A Spring Scandal
by Pokeluv101
Summary: Ruby joined Circ du Gems undercover as a magician. His job was simple: find a killer and bring him to justice but things soon gets complicated when he find the woman he loved and lost. Sapphire's life was her circus. When a string of murders threaten her circus, she reluctantly works with Ruby to save her circus. Franticshipping, Commonershipping, Agencyshipping AU
1. Circ du Gems

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**

**This is the finale of my **_**Season of Murder**_**. I hope that you all enjoy this and I hope that I'll be able to balance all the shippings well enough. I love Franticshipping, Commonershipping and Agency shipping. But beyond that… Cue the clown music! We're going to the circus!**

* * *

Sapphire stood sixty feet in the air. She took a deep breath and willed herself not to look down; willed herself not to remember that if she fell, there was no net to save her. She knew she was well trained enough but the risk still made her hesitate. She cringed slightly when a bright light struck her. White, the ring master below, introduced her character, and praised her ability while waving her arms exaggeratedly. White finished and Sapphire took three dainty steps forward.

And jumped.

Ruby breathed in sharply and his eyes widened as he saw her leap off the platform. He let out a breath of relief when she caught the bar and effectively swung her body to the next trapeze. Her limber body soared through the air. She was too far for him to see any detail but there was no doubt about her beauty. He could see her as clearly as if she were in front of him. His gem was breathtaking.

But she was a suspect. Every person in the _Circ du Gems_ was a suspect. He couldn't imagine his delicate gem could be the murderer. There was a series murders throughout the country, following the same route this circus took. He was surprised that the circus was still running when there was such large controversy around it.

Silver had sent him under cover to find if the killer was a part of the circus. The owner was very protective of her circus and kept it from the media. She also had the money to do so and was able to keep the police at bay. Ruby wasn't the person originally chosen for the job but he jumped at the chance to see his gem again. He convinced Ruby that he would be best since he had experience with magic.

He exited the main tent and went to the much smaller one on the left. The banner 'Lady Fortune' was hung above the door and heavy drapes hung everywhere both inside and outside the tent. Bells chimed as he pushed aside the velvety violet silk and entered the little tent. A round table dominated the small space and a woman sat behind it, placing cards on the table even before he sat across from him.

Even though he tried to find as much information on everyone in the circus but he found much. All he knew was that her stage name was: Lady Fortune. Even in the past, she often blended into the background. Right now, she was dressed as a gypsy, a gold veil over her face but he could see that she was beautiful.

"Change," Her light sophisticated voice sounded haunted. Her slender finger reached out and tapped the death card. She turned over the next card, revealing _the mask_. "You are not who you are truly meant to be. You must discover what matters to you for the beauty you seek to bloom. Not everyone is who you think they are and you must look with your heart."

"Missy?" The jingling of bells brought the young woman out of her trance like state. Ruby turned to see a clown walk in. While others would have laughed at the man's attire, Ruby was appalled at it. How can someone willingly wear such a thing? The colours clashed and the clothes were several sizes too big so that it hung on his body in all the wrong ways. He stopped himself from commenting and observed their conversation instead.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were in a session," He smiled bashfully at her. She smiled at him and he went on, "Pearl and mine act is going to start soon and I thought you might like to come watch us. Sapphire's big finale is about to happen!"

"I would love to watch," She stood and sorted the tarot cards. She turned to Ruby, "I'm sorry, but may we stop our session early."

Ruby nodded, wanting to see the performance as well. He followed the pair, watching the connection between the two. The clown seemed to know the fortune teller more than others seemed to know her more than others. He might be able to help him get more information on everyone at the circus.

He wondered if he would recognize the man with all the makeup he was wearing but the man was tall and a little clumsy from it. He could see that the man's blue eyes sparkled with laughter. The woman next to his was delicate at the size of five feet five but the gypsy costume she wore engulfed her. Her long black hair hung all the way to her waist and her amber eyes held a ghost. Her porcelain skin was so transparent he thought she might be a ghost.

When they entered, Dia went with another man to prepare for their performance and Missy went to sit in the stands. He stood at the base of the stands and watched Sapphire soared through sky. He was always amazed that she was able to move so gracefully, catching the swing and pivoting herself to the next. He knew this act was a duo and wondered where her twin, May, was. He didn't think much on it, wanting to admire Sapphire's beauty.

He could remember their last they had and the angry tears she had when she pushed him away. She stated that she didn't love him but he knew that wasn't true. He tried to call her to make up but she refused to even answer him. He was going to win her back though. He vowed to himself of that, the moment she first hung up on him.

"Why isn't there a net?" Ruby asked. Despite Sapphire's training and talent, he was still wary of the lack of safety. How did White keep getting away with these things, Ruby would never know.

"White says that it adds another layer to the performance," Missy answered beside him. "We always practise with the net though. White wanted to make this as exciting as possible though I fear this is a little extreme as well. Everyone is watching in case she falls with a net so she is safe. I assure you that Sapphire is our best trapeze artist, so you don't have to worry about her."

Sapphire threw her weight forward so that she swung full circle around the trapeze and landed easily on the bar. She was breathing deeply but she smiled and waved at the crowd. The steel wire that held the bar up was cold and sweat collected between her fingers as the trapeze became stationary. The light blinded her but she turned her gaze down so the watchers wouldn't be too concerned. In that action she saw someone come behind Missy in the crowd in a dark cape and a mask. Now him again!

"Missy!" Sapphire called out.

Sapphire almost lost her balance when she almost took a step off the bar because of her instinct to run to her friend's rescue. The masked figure turned up to her and she clung to the wire rope when she shot at her. She swore when the bullet hit her arm since she couldn't go down to help her friend, not with an injury. But others were quick to do so. A man took the man and threw him into the center.

"I'm going to be the one to take you down!" Black declared and his whip fell to the ground like a snake. The man went to shot at him again but with a simple movement of his whip, he struck the weapon from him. "I am the legendary lion tamer! No one can defeat me."

At this point the others surrounded the group but Ruby was more concerned with saving Sapphire. He couldn't let her sit there, a clear target for the killer. He climbed the ladder to the platform as fast as he could. He could see the chaos bellow and bit his tongue when White tried to keep the audience calm, by claiming that this was another part of the act.

At this point, the other performers had surrounded the masked man. Black was grinning though rage filled him with the knowledge of everything he did to this circus. He lashed out with his whip so that it wrapped around the masked man's wrist and pulled him forward. The man stumbled forward but kept his footing. He raised his cape and Black stumbled back when doves flew out at him.

"I shall get my treasure!" He stated and threw marbles on the ground that caused smoke to surround them. Everyone coughed and White took safety blanket to disperse the smoke. When the smoke cleared, everyone gasped that he wasn't there.

Sapphire looked down and was glad to no one was hurt. But a part of her was angry that she couldn't be able to help. Now she had to wait for them to get a ladder to help her down. She almost fell off the trapeze as someone called out for her in the platform. She looked up and she breathed in sharply when she saw that it was Ruby.

"Don't worry Saph, I'm going to save you!" He took the trapeze and swung himself to her.

"You idiot!" She yelled at him. She face palmed when he wasn't able to swing himself fully. He wasn't trained to be a trapeze artist and by the panic in his eyes, she knew that he would likely fall to his death. She looked down and saw that everyone was already gathering at the bottom to catch them but she knew that Ruby wouldn't be able to hang on long enough for them to get the net ready.

"Ruby," She called to him calmly when she saw that his swing had become stationary. "When I tell you to let go, I want you to do so. You need to trust me on this but don't let go until I say so."

Ruby looked skeptical but she tried to ignore it. Of course he wouldn't trust her and she had no idea why she was saving his life. She was supposed to hate him and she thought she would never see him again yet here he was. To her, it seemed like a dream but in her heart she knew that it was him.

She breathed in deeply and slipped from bar but caught the trapeze. She winced when the gunshot in her arm throbbed. She ignored the pain and swung herself until she got the right momentum. She let go and summersaulted through the air. She screamed for him to let go and he did so with a little hesitation. She caught his swing with her legs just as she caught Ruby's wrist. He tightened her hold on his wrist as well and she winced at the pain in her arm.

"Sapphire," He looked at her and could see the pain in her face. "I'm sorry."

She didn't know if he was speaking of the past or present but she didn't want to face either, not when they included him. She knew that she was the one that drew them apart but she couldn't help but blame him a little too. She looked down and saw that most of the audience had been ushered out and everyone was in a circle at the bottom, holding the large safety blanket.

Ruby saw her hold on the bar loosen and he began to panic. Was she still mad enough to kill him but letting them both fall to their doom. "Sapphire, please think about this! I don't want to live without you and I came back to apologize."

He cursed when she relaxed her legs and they fell. She closed her eyes but could fell Ruby gather her against his chest and turn his body so that he would take most of the impact. They were in free fall and she could feel his heart beat wildly in her ear. Ruby tightened his hold on her and wished that his death would be quick.

He grunted when it wasn't the hard ground that met him but a net. He grunted when it gave out and he rolled to the ground with Sapphire in his arms. He was alive and so was his gem! He was so happy that he rained kisses over her face. It was so familiar to hold her and his heart soared when she relaxed in his arms.

"I love you, my gem," He whispered into her hair and that made her heart ache. She pushed away from him roughly and when he grabbed her arm, she winced. He let her go and saw the blood on his hands. Others seemed to notice as well and rushed over to help her. He was pushed out of the way and it hurt him that the performers gather around her like a barrier.

"Are you okay?" White asked and called for someone to get her the first aid kit. She examined the wound, "It went clear through, at least that better than having it lodge in a bone. We're going to take you to the hospital to check up on this."

"I don't need to," She insisted but White stared at her sternly and ordered Wally to help bring Sapphire to the hospital. Sapphire grumbled but allowed the knife thrower to take her away. Ruby bit his tongue from arguing but knew that she wouldn't let him take her. He also had to put Silver's plan into action.

He saw White order everyone and her eyes landed on him once everyone was on doing their own things. She walked over to him and looked him over. She tapped her chin as she walked around him, "I've seen you here before. Putting that aside though, I want to thank you for saving Sapphire. If there's anything you need, I'll be glad to help."

"There is something you can help with, actually," Ruby said and she raised a brow at her. He pulled a rose from thin air and took out a business card nestle in its petals. "Are you in need of a magician?"

* * *

"What is he still doin' here?" Sapphire came back to see White and Ruby standing outside her trailer later that night. Ruby had that stupid grin on his face that for some reason made her lightheaded. White didn't know about their past since she only brought the circus from the previous owners a year ago. It still felt like a betrayal though, that she would hire the one man that made her cry.

"Sapphire, I want you to meet our new magician, Ruby!" White said with her normal enthusiasm. "I want you to show him around."

"But-" Sapphire's argument was met with death ears as White danced off. She saw one of the performers falter and went to help the green haired man. Sapphire let out a frustrated breath and swung back to Ruby to pin him with a glare. She didn't give him a moment to speak before she drilled her finger into his chest.

"It's great to see you again," He bowed to her and she rolled her eyes. She scoffed at him in that accent that had haunted his daydreams for years. His eyes sparkled as he stood and he looked her up and down.

She was still as beautiful as when they first met only a year before. Her soft brown hair was cut short to her shoulders and tied so that her bangs fell forward to cup her face. She was small and had a slender body toned for gymnastic. She was so small, only reaching the middle of his chest, that he sometime forgot how powerful she was. Her namesake eyes flashed with passion he knew only she had.

"I want to make this right between us. I know that I said some words but that was from anger," Ruby insisted but she merely crossed her arms and glared up at him. He knew that simple words wouldn't be able to win her back after all of the terrible things he said to her. "I'm taking a job as a magician to be closer to you."

"Because working for the circus is such a shame," She shot him a look. She had been a part of the circus ever since she was five and it was her entire life. It didn't help that he took the job of the one act she hated above all else. Magic was like love to her, a fleeting feeling of happiness and little more than an illusion. He had taught her that himself all those years ago when she was little more than an illusion herself.

"I just want to be close to you," He knew she loved the circus which was more of a home to her. Her father had traveled with the circus for research and brought his twin daughters with him. After he died when they were twenty, they stayed at the circus knowing no other home. Because the circus took her in, she loved it more than anything and would protect it. She had to know something about the murders.

"I'm sure you would want to know about May," The sudden change of subject jarred him but he knew what point she was going to make. "You'll be heartbroken to hear that she ran _away_ from the circus with her fiancé Drew. Now that you have no reason to stay, I'll be telling White."

"That's not true," When she turned away from him, he took her hand and turned her back so that she was against his chest. He wrapped her arms around her waist, trapping her against him. He raised her chin so that she looked up at him, "I have you. You're the reason I'm here. At least give us a chance and show me around."

She chocked on her words when she looked up into his crimson eyes. She couldn't read the emotions raging through them and her heart stumbled. She was sure that she could feel her heartbeat but hoped that he wouldn't think too much of it. He was tall and lean, towering over her but never made her feel pathetically small. Only protected.

"Fine," She looked away from him so that he couldn't read her eyes. She would show him around and when he realized that he didn't want to spend the day in a dirt filled circus, he would leave her in peace. He nodded and let her go, gesturing for her to lead the way.

"We should be sloughing about now," She told him, a term for tearing down the tent. They past some of game stands that were also being taken down. "We don't stay in town long, only a couple weeks, most of the time when we're just traveling. Working in the circus is hard work. We get up early to set up and hotels are rare so don't hold your breath for anything too fancy."

Ruby already knew how hard working in a traveling circus was, she told him so when they first started dating but she thought the work was easier with all the friends she made. They were constantly on the move during the season so he thanked whatever god was watching over him that their truck had broken down when it did.

They stayed longer than was planned and in that time, Ruby had started dating her. He had went to the circus ever since he was a child and was always fascinated by the flying twins but never had time to talk about them before that. But their relation had started with a lie and it had ended with heated words. He wanted to win her back though and start over with the truth. That wasn't right either, since the reason he came was to the circus was for the case.

Ruby looked down at Sapphire at his side. She had changed so much since they last met despite it only being a couple years. Only in appearance though, she was still the stubborn little spitfire he knew she was. They passed some games and Sapphire introduced him to everyone in the circus.

"Watch out!" As they entered the main tent, a lion almost took down but Sapphire quickly pulled him out of its path. Ruby reached for his gun, thinking that the lion had gotten loose but a man came and started patting the animal until it was lying on its stomach. "Aren't you a good boy Buoh?"

"I hope that thing is tamed," Ruby twitched that his well tailored clothes now had dirt on them.

"Of course he isn't," The man laughed and held out his hand to shake. "A domesticated lion is much more dangerous than a wild one. They're much less predictable and when they snap, they're almost uncontrollable. I'm Black by the way, the lion tamer."

"This is Ruby," Sapphire introduced the two. "He wants to join the family."

Black raised a brow at the bitterness in her voice. The man didn't seem fazed by it and place an arm around her shoulder. Sapphire shrugged it off and went on to where she saw a trio pulling down the tent canvas. Ruby recognized the clown and the gypsy but he didn't know the third man. Sapphire went to them and introduced them to Ruby.

"Dia and Pearl are a comedy duo and our clowns," Sapphire told him. Diamond seemed to recognize him and shook Ruby's hand, thanking him for saving Missy. Sapphire nodded toward the woman that stayed mostly to the background. "And Missy's our fortune teller. White just hired him as our new magician."

"At least we have one more person to help us. We already took out all the pegs but you can roll up the canvases. Then you can help us take down the center pole."

Ruby looked up at the main pole holding up the tent. He gulped at the prospect of bring that thing down. It was at least eighty feet. No wonder there was so many people in this circus. Sapphire ushered him to where the canvases were being rolled so they could be put into a truck. A man with green hair was already there and Ruby recognized him as the one that brought Sapphire to the hospital.

"I brought you help," Sapphire pushed Ruby toward him a little too forcibly. She had been increasing annoyed at him because of all the little nitpicks he pointed out in the circus tent. "This is Wally by the way. I need to talk to White for a bit."

Wally nodded and went on with his work. Ruby looked upon this man with suspicion for a moment trying to discover what this man's relationship with Sapphire was. He never thought of the possibility of her seeing someone new, he couldn't stand the thought.

"I'm not dating her," Wally answer his thoughts and ruby realized that he had been speaking out loud. Ruby face palmed but Wally only chuckled. "I haven't been here long but I know that she isn't in a relationship. She's too busy with the circus for that sort of thing."

"So what's your act?" Ruby asked as he went to work helping this new found friend.

"I help out with the games mostly but when we're short an act, I usually mime." Wally answered. "I have to ask though. Do you know exactly what you're signing up for?"

"Is this about that man that tried to take Missy?"

Wally looked over his shoulder before he answered, "He never attacked us in the middle of the show before. People have been calling him the masked man and half of the performers had already left in fear. Nobody know much about him, except that he's here to claim a treasure and that he's a magician."

"What exactly have he done?"

"Messed with some of our equipment and been sending us threats. I don't know everything but there are a lot of rumours. Everyone's been tense ever since he sent that letter. White only gave us the bare details. I'm just telling you this so that you know."

"Thank you," Ruby nodded to the man. At least now he had a starting point to build a case around. Maybe this masked man was connected to the murders outside of the circus as well. He would have to ask White more questions. He thanked the man and walked away to find the woman.

Wally watched him leave before he pulled out his phone, "I think we have a problem."

* * *

"I can't work with him!" Sapphire insisted but White waved away her concerned stating that they needed a magician after their last one walked out on them. She was desperately short on performers since the only ones staying were the ones that had been a part of the circus for years or the one that White managed to… convince to stay. Sapphire knew this as well but couldn't put away her pride at this moment.

"Be professional about this," White begged. Running a circus had been her dream ever since she was five and saw her first one. The lights and characters were so enchanting, she couldn't help but fall in love with it. She wanted to give children the experience she had when she was little but now everything was going wrong.

"I'm not going to relent on this Sapphire. You know that if I could I would. You're one of my closest friends but I am also a business owner and I have to make hard decisions. This is one of them and I promise if I feel that he isn't being professional, I'll let him go. Just please put up with this for a while for me. You don't even have to speak with one another! He'll be staying in Wally's trailer anyways."

Sapphire could see the desperation in the woman's eyes and sighed. Wally's trailer was far enough from her own so she wouldn't be tempted to go to him. White saw the sad acceptance in her eyes and she jumped at it.

"Thank you!" She smiled widely and grabbed the woman's hand. Before Sapphire could change her mind, White started to run off. "I need to go tell Cheren that it's his night to drive. Thank you so much again."

When White was well enough away, she stopped behind a trailer and sighed, leaning her head against it. She pressed a hand against her heart and tried to tell herself that this wasn't entirely her fault. How could she know that he would actually go through with his threats? She was contemplating if she should shut down the circus when she felt someone grab her from behind.

She gasped when she felt a knife against her throat. "Where's my treasure?"

"There is no treasure," she insisted. Despite the situation, she whispered harshly and found herself angrier than anything "I've done nothing to you- We've done nothing to you. Just leave my circus alone!"

"I know it's here somewhere," He accused. "For every day that I go without that treasure, I'll kill one of your performers."

White's mind started to race at this threat. Now there was no doubt that he would do something like that. She had to shut down the circus, dream or not, there were people's lives at risk. She jumped when the knife pressed dangerously close. "Don't think that you can run from this. If you try to run with the treasure, I'll track you down to take it back."

"So no matter what I do, we're all going to die?" She snapped at him. "There is no treasure to give you!"

"That's enough!" The man threw her sharply against the trailer and she slumped down against it, keeping her eyes trained on the circus. If this was how she was going to die, then she would rather look at the bright colours of the circus than the man's mask.

"Prez!" The man turned and Black running toward them. He took out an orb from his sleeve and White covered her eyes when there was a sudden blinding light. Black cursed when the light dimmed and all he saw was White crumpled against the trailer. He ran to her and lifted her into his arms glad that he could still feel her heartbeat.

"Prez, come on. You need to talk to me," She was staring up at him, her body still in shock. A violent tremor shook her body before she was able to look up at him. The adrenaline flowed out of her and she found herself sobbing now that she didn't have to be brave.

"I'm so sorry," She sobbed against his shoulder and he felt awkward comforting him because he never though he would be in this position. "This is my fault. I really need to tell you guys the truth. I haven't been telling everyone everything. I'm so sorry."

* * *

**The first chapter of the last book. A little long but I need to set a lot of things up and show where all of the characters are. I've been doing so much research on traveling circuses for this and wanted to make this as realistic as possible. The next chapter probably won't be this long either.**

**Review if you liked.**


	2. My Treasure

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**

* * *

White pulled Black's jacket around her closer. He gently nudged her head with a steaming cup of coffee and she looked up at him. He placed the cup in her hands and the little lion on his head hopped onto his lap. White absently petted the small creature and felt its claws to make sure that it wasn't too sharp. The small creature often clutch onto Black's head.

Black stood heads and shoulder over her. His deep brown eyes that sparkled with mischief now looked down at her with concerned. His brown hair was ruffled in such a way that remained her of a lion which he could never tame. She always felt safe around him because she always felt that he would help her and he was fully capable with broad shoulders and muscled arms.

"Thank you," She took the cup. She was thankful that she had Black to help her, though he couldn't quite leave like the others. She still remembered the day he had stumbled into one of her circus tents and broke virtually everything in it in his haste. She would've forgiven him until she saw how one of the lions gravitated toward him, she knew that he would be perfect for the one act she was missing.

She told him that he would have to pay for all the damages, and like she guessed, he didn't have any money. She all but cheered as she declared that he was now her eternal employee. Black agreed on the condition that they left that night. She agreed and she never regretted it but she always wondered what he was running from, but after so long and nothing came up, she just didn't think too much.

Black sat at her side and she could see the others gather around them. She knew that they were all curious about what why she had called a meeting. She went to the desk and opened a locked drawer. She took out some letters, and placed them on her lap as she sat back down. She didn't hand them out though and kept her eyes trained on them.

"If any of you want to leave my employment, I fully understand your choice." She began. "I've been getting letters telling me that I took something from them and if I didn't return it to them, that he would shut down my circus. I didn't think much of it, just some pranks. Even when things started going wrong, I didn't connect on it. Then I started getting photographs. I should've gone to the police then."

Ruby stayed to the back to the crowd and took in everything White was saying. He needed to get his hands on those letters and photographs but it didn't seem like she would relinquish her hold on them. He could easily pick a lock to get them but she might panic if she found the letters missing. No one could discover that he was undercover. It would hurt the investigation since Silver believed that the killer was a one of the performers.

"Can we see the photograph?" Ruby insisted a little too forcefully. Black sent him a quick glare. Obviously Black didn't like Ruby was being so pushy and was close to her. He thought of a way to find if anyone had something to hide. "I was just thinking that it might help… unless you don't want the police to get involved."

"Idiot!" Sapphire hit him over the head and glared at him. "How can you even suggest that one of us could be the one harassing the circus? Ain't nobody here hiding a secret!"

Ruby held back his grin since he knew that she would say something like that. He took a quick look around the group to see who reacted to her words. He frowned when more people than not reacted. How could single out the killer? He should've guessed that most of the performers would have a reason to hide in a circus. God, this was going to be hard for him. Then he smiled to himself, thinking that he would need help from someone that knew a lot about the Circus. That meant he needed Sapphire's help.

He was sure that he could reason with her. In that time, he could woo her again and win her back. With that plan in mind, he went back to studying his suspects. Wally already opened up to him so he could probably find more information about everyone from him. White must have kept records on everyone so all he needed was to get into her cabinet. This was going to be an easy case.

"Okay, no photographs, but can you at least tell me what they were of?" Ruby asked. White pressed the back to her hand to her mouth and reluctantly placed one on the table. Ruby breathed in sharply, recognizing the scene. It was one of the murders Silver thought was connected to the circus.

Rage rushed through him and he slammed his hands on the table. He was a passionate man, and that could sometime cause him to act without thinking. "You have photos of dead people sent to you and you brush it off as a little prank? You're only _now_ taking this seriously?"

"I'm sorry," She said to the photo rather than him. "But I want to make this right! I'm not going to give up this circus to him and he won't leave us alone. He wants the treasure so all we have to do is find it! I'm sure that we can if we ban together."

"What treasure?" Ruby asked and everyone looked at him in shock, as if this was common knowledge.

"When I first bought this circus, there was a myth about the legend the previous owner left behind a large amount of wealth." White explained. "He told that it was hidden somewhere here but I never bothered to look for it. It sounded so cliché that I thought it was just a legend. Obviously this killer thinks that it's real."

"What should we do Prez?" Black asked.

White leaned back, as if trying to figure it out as he was asking that. "He wants money so either we find the treasure or get enough to pay him. Once he has the money, he'll leave us alone. Since there's no hint on where the treasure is, we'll just have to find enough money to appease him. That should be easy! But, I guess it's only fair that I let you walk out right now."

"Of course we won't," Sapphire declared. "We're a family."

* * *

Ruby leaned back as the trailer moved down the open road. They had been on the road for a week now, driving so fast that Ruby knew that White had something to run from. No one questioned her choice or even argued with her. He had to wait until the circus stopped for the night. They usually drove through the night with everyone alternating driving but tonight White wanted them to rest and to practice their acts.

He hit a wall when it came to Wally. It turned out that Wally only just joined the circus so didn't know that much about the other actors. Though Ruby doubted this since there were times Wally knew more than he said. It seemed that was the case with everyone. He supposed that was to be expected from people who used the circus to escape their problems.

He felt the trailer stop and he all but crash through the door. He wasn't one to enjoy the outdoors and would often avoid dirt but he had been trapped in that trailer for so long he was relieved for the fresh air. As soon as he got out, he stretched, eager to find his gem.

They had stopped at an empty field and White maneuvered the wagons and trailers into a circle. White had negotiated with the landlord to let them stay awhile. Everyone else seemed to be relieved for the rest as well, for they exited their trailers with glee. He looked around to look for Sapphire but she wasn't anywhere in sight. He sighed, thinking that she was in her trailer hiding from him.

A shadow cascaded over him and he looked up to see an elephant tower over him. The small form of Sapphire leaned over the large animal and glared at him, as if she expected for him to run long before now. He shadowed his eyes as he looked up at her.

"Can we talk?" he asked and she turned her nose at him. He saw that she was going to say - or rather yell- something to him so interrupted her before the tirade could start. "It's about the circus. I would rather talk with you privately."

"Let's just get this over with," She leaned over and he smiled to himself. She was a little shocked since she only felt his hand around hers briefly. It still sent shocks through her body and she closed her eyes against the mixture of excitement and pain. He had so effortlessly swung himself behind her. She then urged the elephant away from the group by gently nudging it behind its ear.

Ruby wrapped his arms around her waist, a move so familiar it hurt. He placed his chin on the top of her head and pulled her closer. She had a petit frame yet strong muscles but one had to be a trapeze artist. Her slender frame fit so naturally against his body but it hurt that she was so tense. "Remember all the nights we did this, just riding Rono and reading the stars?"

"You said you wanted to talk about the circus," She redirected the topic. She was stronger than this, so why was the thought of his arms around her hurt so much? Maybe because she wasn't the girl in his arms as he smiled down at her. He expected grace and ladylike, but she couldn't be that. She could only be Sapphire Birch.

"I was thinking about the killer," He sighed but promised to himself that they would speak about where their relationship later. "Maybe we can capture him together or at least find who he is. We'll make a good team since you know everything about this circus and I can probably get some of my police friends to go over the evidence."

"I thought you were a police officer," She stated and he was surprised that she remembered that. He didn't speak about his job much, tending to talk more about his passion of design. Of course he couldn't tell her that he was still an undercover cop because it would interfere with the investigation. He didn't like lying to her so told as close to the truth as possible.

"I just retired early," It was true that he was retired but this was his last assignment. "I thought the circus would be a good change of scenery for me and I really want to try this again, try us again. I know that I messed things up but what we had was special, too special to just give up on it. You must've felt that spark between us."

"Your father just let you go? Just like that?" She was surprised that his father would let Ruby leave the team since she knew he could be overbearing about the family business of being a police.

"My father passed away a couple months ago," Ruby felt a sudden lump in his throat. He should be glad that he wasn't chained to a job he didn't love. He didn't even know why he stayed at that job for as long as he did. He didn't know why he didn't stand up to the man either.

"I'm sorry for your loss," She said in a soft voice. He knew that she was also thinking of her father, who had a direct contradictory to his relationship to his with his father. "I know you two never see eye to eye but I also know that losing someone so close is hard. At least you're free to do what you love, making all those clothes, living in the city of lights and all that."

Ruby didn't say anything, mostly because he didn't know what to say. He felt so many mixed feelings and saying any one of them would have her angry by saying the wrong thing. He was always straddling the wall between love and contempt for his father. For god sake, he didn't even cry when the man died doing his duty to his city.

"My father has nothing to do with this," His voice was strained and she nodded. "Will you help me find the killer? I know I'm the last person you want to team up with but think about your circus."

Sapphire closed her eyes to think about the pros and cons of them working together. But only the images of their moonlit escapades flashed before her lashes. She couldn't even close her eyes without the memories tormenting her! It was bad enough when they were apart but now that he was behind her, she didn't know how she could stand much more of him.

It wasn't right that she was the only one being tormented by this. She knew that there could never be anything between them but thunder. Their personalities were too different and their interest lied in different dimensions. If her lie hadn't broken them apart, then their differences would've pulled them apart. Why risk her heart?

But then there was her circus. She was feed up with not being able to do much to take down this killer. At first he was just a nuisance but now it was clear that he was a killer now. She knew that White was already having trouble with the circus. If this could help her home, then she would have to put this aside.

"I'll help," she signed her fate. She could practically see the smirk on his face and felt his hand rubbed her leg.

"So tell me about this treasure. "You looked pretty skeptical when White said it didn't exist. You've been in this circus longer the than White so you obviously know more than she does, no insult to her. What makes you believe that there's a treasure?"

"I didn't think much on the myth," She started, guiding Dono to a pile of hay Black laid out for the animals. Ruby slid off before she did and held out his arms to her, she ignored them though and slid down the other side. Ruby sighed as she went to brush down the elephant. He looked back to make sure that no one was watching them.

"Nelson, the previous owner, seemed to have more money than he knew what to do with. We never had money issue even when we had a bad year. He often joked with us that he had a treasure hidden in the circus and I think he does. He often crept around the circus when there was no reason to and there were places he would never let us go."

"So you're thinking that it might be in one of those places?"

"The myth is actually that someone a hundred years ago robbed a bank and ran to hide in this circus. He only planned to hide there until the police moved on but he fell in love with the lion tamer. He decided to stay as the magician and live out a new life with his love. But when she found out about his past, she left him and in his grief, he left the circus because it held too many memories, leaving the treasure behind."

Ruby nodded, "Do you think that White kept the records of all the performers before she bought it? It should be easy to find if the myth is true by looking there. We just need to find if there was a female lion tamer that was with a magician some hundred years ago."

"One problem," Sapphire pointed out. "White probably won't let us see the records because of the confidential agreement that binds everyone in the circus."

"Then we just won't ask her," he grinned down at her and took another brush to help her. He brushed Rono's side lovingly until he was at her side and placed his hands over hers. "I'll do this for you. And by the way, I'm looking forward to working with you."

* * *

"I have the marshmallows!" White exited her trailer with bags off food in each arm as she made her way to the circle of performers. It was later that night and they sat around a fire. Ruby thought that this was rather rustic and that this was something a group of gypsies would do. She sat at the head and handed the bag to the person next to her.

Ruby scanned everyone at the circle and asked, "Where's Missy? I thought everyone was going to be here."

"She doesn't join us much, like to stay to herself," Sapphire explained. It hurt that even as she sat next to him, the distance between them felt like acres. "She usually just stays in her trailer. It's a shame that she doesn't join us more but we can't force her to do anything. She's probably practicing her act. Don't worry about her much, Dia usually checks up on her so if anything is wrong, he'll tell us."

"Hey White," Black came behind her, with his costume over his shoulders. "Can you mend this for me? Musha kinda got a little too physical playing with me. I tried to fix it myself but…"

White took it and examined the rip in his costume. Her brows furrowed as she looked at the uneven stitches he made. He wouldn't have bothered her if he could do it himself since he knew that she was feeling a lot of stress lately. He was smart but he had little talent with a needle.

She was taller than the average woman and her brown hair was usually in a messy ponytail, giving her more height. Her light blue eyes were almost the colour of ice and it intrigued him how the hue changed with her mood. Though most of the performers were older than her, she had a good business mind and he had no doubt that they would be able to get past this.

"I'll do that for you," Ruby volunteered. "I have some experience with design so it won't be much trouble. In fact, I think that I want to redesign all of the costumes for you. They're okay but I think that they can be better with a few tweaks here and there. Of course you can have a say in their design since this is going to be an expression of your character."

Sapphire saw the excitement on his face and felt something ache in her heart. She had seen that expression so often that she wanted to be happy for him. She should be happy but knew that he would happier in one of those big cities. No matter how much she imagined their future, one of them would be unhappy. She didn't fit in the city and he didn't want to live in a circus.

She stared at the marshmallow at the end of her stick without seeing it, seeing instead Ruby's eyes when he told her that he loved her in the fire. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she almost jumped. When had he gotten so close to her? She made the mistake of looking into his crimson eyes and drowned in grief.

He pointed to White's trailer and knew that he wanted to go through the White's records. She nodded though she did feel a little guilty that she was going to look into their secrets. But what could she find that would be that bad? She thought to herself. She had been with them for years and none seem like the kind of person would have a criminal record.

She followed him as he lead her away, making the excuse that he wanted to take her measurements. Dia looked worriedly after her since he knew of their past. He didn't want his friend to be hurt again though he did speak to Ruby that night and it seemed that he truly loved her. He was caught between wanting to stop them and seeing what would come from this courtship.

He couldn't make a decision before he saw the pair disappear into White's trailer. Suspicious, he followed the pair, standing below the window. What were they doing? He had to strain his ears to see what they said and his imagination filled in the rest. It seemed like Ruby was looking for the treasure but White already said that it was just a myth.

If Ruby did have a connection to the Killer, then he might hurt Sapphire again and she didn't deserve that. Though there was a glaring contradiction to this since Ruby was there when the killer attacked. Dia couldn't see Ruby in a dark light since he did save Missy but he would have to tell White about this. He went to tell White but went to Missy, wanting to warn her as well.

* * *

"Hey, guess what, Black used to be a scientist!" Ruby took out the file on the man in question. "He quitted though it doesn't say why he did."

"That doesn't help us, we need to find that magician." Sapphire pulled out the lowest drawer which held the older files. Ruby knelt next to her so that he could pick the lock. She rolled her eyes when he did so easily and smirked superiorly at her. She wanted to take that smirk away from in two different ways. She wanted to slap it off him and the other was to kiss him. One couldn't smirk when kissing another, could they?

"This would be easier if this was done electronically," He grumbled as most of the files were fading and didn't know if his camera phone could pick up most of the text.

"There's not much information on Missy," Ruby noted. Sapphire clenched her jaw since he had asked so many questions about the woman already. "I thought you could find a decent amount of information on her since she has a lot of information on her since she has such a strange name."

"Missy is just a name that Dia gave her," Sapphire explained. "Dia found her lost at a hotel and he invited her to join the circus. We don't know much about her but Dia just saw a man call her Missy and thought that was her name. Why are you so interested anyways?"

"I was just curious since we know so little about her. I don't like the gaps in this picture, it makes it harder to solve this mystery" Ruby looked back at Sapphire and saw the conflict of emotion in her face. Was she jealous? He jumped with glee in his mind but stopped when he came upon another file.

"Is this her?" He pulled out a file of a woman. When Sapphire wasn't looking, he took a picture of it and sent it to Silver for a background check. "There aren't many female lion tamer so this might be her. There's something familiar about her too but I can't put my finger on it."

"I've seen that golden barrette before," Sapphire tapped her chin and she clapped her hand at the connection. "Some of the older costumes had jewels similar to these but Nelson left them when he sold the circus. We could never find them again though."

"So the jewels on the costume might be the treasure! Nelson might've found the gold and used them for the costumes! That narrows down what we're looking for." Ruby declared. "Let's go before someone starts to question why we're missing."

* * *

Platina brushed her hair back as she clipped her hair back with golden barrettes of her fortune teller costume. She sighed to herself and touched her cheek, where a bruise once graced her skin. She felt her heart stopped when there was a knock at her trailer. She cautiously looked out the window, fearing that she had been found. She let out a breath of relief when she saw that it was only Dia.

She went to open the door yet looked behind him to make sure that there was no one hiding in the shadows. When she saw that there were none, she looked up at Dia and greeted him politely. He smiled back at her and held out some food for her.

"I thought you might want some company, so made you some. Of course, if you don't want me to…" Dia started and she smiled softly up at him.

"I would love some company," She moved so that he could enter and closed the door quickly behind him. She asked him where Pearl with and he explained that the man had caught a stomach flu so was resting.

"That's a beautiful barrette," Dia commented and touched it gently. Slowly his fingers traced a path down her cheek and she leaned into his hand. She looked up at him and when their eyes connected, he nervously took his hand away, blushing as he did so.

"Thank you," She said in a trained even voice. "It has been in my family for years. I'm quite hungry, so let's dine on this fine night."

Dia smiled, happy to obliged and set the food on the small table at the middle of the room. The small act of kindness was so familiar to Platina and she was glad that she was able to find some happiness in her solitude. She felt a little guilt that she had to lie to Dia but it was safer for them both for her to do so. It hurt so much because she wanted to tell him, to be as honest as he was to her.

But in the end she was one big illusion.

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long, but balancing university, work and fanfiction is hard. Review if you liked. **


	3. My Birthright

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**

* * *

White was frustrated at the endless letters that were piling up on her desk. The killer had been threatening her again and again. She had already tried to gather as much funds as she could but it didn't seem to appease him. What made the treasure so important since it was only money he wanted?

"What more do you want?" She screamed to the letters. She thought she was alone in her office so called out to relieve some of her stress. "Leave me alone! There is no treasure here and there's nothing more you can do to change that! I can't give you the treasure."

* * *

Sapphire sighed as she walked through the field on her hands. She kept her eyes forward as she watched the other performers set up the minimal to practise their acts. She stopped when several performers walked by and barely turned her head at the knife throwers. She flipped over so that she could walk on her bare feet again.

She ducked below the knives and waved to the other performers. Wally caught the knives easily and saluted to her. Her tucked the two swords into his belt and walked beside her. He was going to have an act since there weren't enough performers for next week's performance. That act was to practice his swordplay.

"How's the act comin' along?" She asked him. Wally was the newest recruit, before Ruby of course and had only done a few miscellaneous things until now. Wally was tall, almost six feet and had a lean muscular body. His green hair was cut sleek and his bright blue eyes held a mixture of innocence and experience. His simple white shirt held a crudely stitched 'T' on the collar and she wondered what it stood for.

When she asked him, he simple smiled with a small blush and said that it was from a friend. They reached the uneven bars where set up for her to practise on. She was able to jump and catch the bar to swing herself up. She landed easily, the bar familiar under her bare feet. Wally was still there, as if he had something more he wanted to ask her but hesitated.

"How well do you know Ruby?" Wally asked and she almost lost her grip on the trapeze. She swung from bar to bar until she stopped and rested on the bar. It was safer up there, far above reality but Wally was still there waiting for an answer. She didn't know how much he knew or what the others had already told him.

"Are ya asking me how well I know him or how long we've known each other?" She asked, swinging from bar to bar gently. He shrugged and she sighed at the ambiguity of the question. "I know him as well as how little he knows me. Of course he'll say that he knows me but… I wasn't me back then. What do you _really_ want to know?"

"Is he really a magician?" He asked.

"Not professionally. He used to hang around the circus with us a lot and picked up a few tricks. I still don't know why he came back, even if he says that it's for me," Sapphire almost chocked in the words and she trained herself not to show the hurt. She didn't know if she didn't believe in his words or just was too afraid to. "Why do you ask? You've seen him do some tricks so you know that he's talented."

"I just think that it's a coincident that right after the killer, a magician, appears and then another one joins us. Dia's worried about him too though he's less skeptical since he did save Missy. I just think that we should be careful around him."

"Ya donna' need to tell me that," She scoffed and easily slide down the bar to hang upside down so she could look him in the eye. She couldn't read his eyes but there was nothing to really suspect from him, just another performer looking out for another. But even with his warning, she was a little too far gone to abide by them. She had already promised to help him solve this mystery and her heart was called by the illusion in her heart, created by those hypnotising red eyes.

"Dia and I haven't spoken with White about this," Wally went on. "But I thought that I should speak to you about it. Your relationship with him is infamous among this circus, so much that I'm surprise White allowed him to join but I'm sure that he was very charming. In my experience, some killers are the last person you would expect-"

"Ruby ain't a killer," She said sternly, grinding her teethes. She couldn't see Ruby doing anything to her circus.

"You're pretty quick to defend him, considering that you continually say how much you dislike him." Wally observed. "Anyways, shouldn't he be the one that's angry? You were the one that deceived him."

Wally almost fell backwards when Sapphire landed in front of him, her toes almost touching his as she stared angrily up at him. He hadn't meant to offend her, he was just a little socially awkward since his parents all but imprison because of a condition. He thanked Blue for saving him from his overprotective parents every day.

He expected her to yell at him but she merely turned on her heels and stormed off. Wally was going to go after her to apologize. He was stopped when someone grabbed his shoulder and turned to see Ruby. He seemed even more angry than Sapphire and braced himself for an attack. Ruby just pushed past him and went after Sapphire.

Wally cursed to himself. He was supposed to be connecting with these people! He offered to help Ruby to look for her but stopped when Ruby sent him a quick glare.

"Sapphire!" Ruby called after her. She had already run out of his sight but he could think of several places that she would go to. He was angry with Wally for bring up their past relationship without knowing everything, just the gossip. He didn't confront the man about it because is first concern was Sapphire.

He went past the other performers but didn't really see them. They stared after him though, more curious than anything since his steps were purposeful. He was a man on a mission and they didn't know if they should intervene. Ruby let out a breath to relieve some of his anger, not wanting to go confront her angry. She was already hurt enough and he didn't want to add any more than he already had.

He went past her trailer, knowing that she wouldn't be in there. He went into one of the tents, drawn to it since it was the tallest. He walked in and saw that the platforms for the trapeze and the net were already set up but the actually trapeze weren't. He walked over to the high platform and climbed the cable rope to the top.

As he got closer, he could hear little sniffles that pulled at his heart. He knew that she often tried to be strong by holding all the pain inside her, not letting others see her pain or problems. The few times she did cry, at least that he knew of, she would hide away in her pride.

In truth he only saw her cry once when she spoke of her father's death. It was also at this high altitude that he held her. There was something about being high above the ground that allowed her to disconnect from her pride, or rather the problems she held inside. If she really needed to cry, then he would find her in her safe haven.

He knew that she was up there but it still broke his heart to see her curl in a little ball at the top. She was small so when she curled into a ball, with her face in her knees, not many people could see he from ground level. She didn't seem to notice him when he settled himself onto the platform. She was leaning against the pole and he moved himself in front of her.

She jerked when he touched her cheek, not knowing if he shocked her or if it was just his touch that made her react so. She turned away from him so he couldn't see the tears that misted her deep blue eyes. Her pride wouldn't allow them to fall yet her heart forced them to appear. She couldn't run from him, her back was against the pole and he had moved his body around her, thoroughly trapping her against his body.

He was so close when he placed a hand on her cheek. She didn't say a word or even look into his eyes. She didn't know if she would see the anger from years ago or the pity that others had given her when he walked away. She bit her lips, fighting the need to bury herself in his chest, her once safe haven from reality.

"How did you find me?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking and failing.

"I can always be able to find you, my gem." He smiled hoping that she would return it. Her face was skeptical but that didn't deter him. He knew that his words didn't have high standings with him. He reached behind her ear and pulled out a blue rose. "I will love you until this flowers dies."

She held her breath as he kissed her temple, slipping the flower behind her ear, securing it with a strand of her hair. Her hand moved to the flower without her thinking and she could feel that it was in fact an artificial flower. "I've forgiven you for your deception, now it's time for you to forgive yourself so we can be together. We'll be together forever, we'll live in the city of lights, I'll provide for you and we'll be happy. You don't need to blame yourself for our break up"

"I haven't forgiven you for what you've said to me!" She shot back at him suddenly. He winced, remembering all the hurtful things he called her and accused her of. She took advantage of his shock and pushed away his arm and climbed down the ladder. What had he said that made her run from him?

To think that she almost fell into his eyes again! How can he expect her to live in his life, giving up everything that she held close to her heart? It just showed how much they weren't meant to be together, she had already came to terms with that, she told herself. Then why was her heart hurting so?

* * *

Dia tried to keep his balance but fell promptly on his behind though he was laughing as he did so. Pearl groaned though, trying to perfect their latest act. Missy sat on the tightrope, watching the pair. She laughed softly at the two as they lovingly bickered. The two were the closest of friend, more like brothers in reality. That thought made her think of her own sister and a distant pain spread in her stomach.

"Now, when you think of a circus act…" The two went through the familiar routine and Missy still smiled to herself even if she already knew the punch line. Dia was on the tightrope next to her, trying to balance himself, and falling as the act dictated. He landed easily on the safety matt just two feet below in a silly fashion.

"How was that?" Dia smiled up at her, catching her giggling a little. Her training caused her to put on a regal mask and nodded to him. His smile warmed her heart though and she wished that she was able to speak normally to him.

"We almost have everything perfected," Pearl boasted. "Wait till you see our finale! We should practise that now. We'll need the pies and bicycle and-"

"I'll get them," Dia volunteered, knowing that Pearl could go on and on about the act. They were both passionate about their comedy act, even as Dia was often casted as the stooge. He looked back to see Pearl explain the finale to Missy. Just as when he first saw her, he thought she looked just as a princess would, regal and beautiful.

He pulled himself away and went to the wooden circus wagon carrying all of the props. He opened it and stepped inside, leaving the doors open so he could see. He pushed past the worn costume, which were most likely going to be sold now that Ruby had volunteered to make them new ones. He came across a tiara and thought of Missy.

He held it up to the light and the fake gems sparkled in the dim light. He could see Missy wearing it as she danced through a ballroom. He couldn't help but imagine himself as her dance partner. He placed the tiara back since it wouldn't fit with her gypsy character. In fact, he couldn't remember which costume this belonged too. He rubbed his chin, trying to think of it but stopped when a soft sound finally reached him.

He turned and saw a little Jack in the Box sitting on a box. Curious, he went over to it and tapped the box. He saw it in White's office several times before but thought it was just a little knickknack. The soft music got louder as it reached the end of its song, the handle turning. He turned his head to the side and something caught the light. There was a transparent string tied to the turning handle.

He jumped back when the jack popped out of the box and the doors slammed down at the same time. He ran to the door and started banging on the door, calling out for help. He heard something ticking and turned to see the glowing eyes of the clown. His heart stopped when he saw the clown held a candle.

* * *

"Dia? Dia!" Missy heard his call for help. Pearl and she got worried when he hadn't come back yet, so they went to look for him. They walked by the wagon and heard the banging. At first Pearl laughed thinking that Dia had trapped himself in but when Pearl couldn't open it and he could feel a heat behind the doors, the weight of the situation dawned on him.

Missy tried to keep Dia calm as Pearl went to get White for the key. It scared her though that Dia didn't speak to her, just the continual banging on the wagon door. The other performers had gathered around them and tried to force the door open. Ruby cursed when he touched the door and it almost burnt his hand.

"I'm here!" White ran to her side and unlocked the wagon door. She opened the door to see that the wagon filled with candles and in the center was a giant box. She breathed in deeply when the masked killer stepped out from behind the box.

"I am tired of waiting for you to bring me my treasure! This is the last warning I shall give you." He took a candle and held it to the box. "Every night I do not get my treasure, I shall kill one of your performers. This is your last chance, give me my treasure or I'll burn your clown!"

"Stop!" Missy called out, but she barely heard her own words over the pounding in her ears. She lowered her eyes and pulled her hair over her face. Her heart stopped when the other performers parted and left her the center of attention. She could hear Dia pounding on the box and tightened her hold on her skirt. Her voice shook as she asked, "How much money do you want? I'm sure we can-"

"I don't want your damn money. I want my treasure! That treasure is my birthright." The man raised the candle to throw the candle but Ruby started pulling out napkins from his sleeves, catching the man's attention.

"I am the amazing Ruby Wizard!" Ruby declared trying to distract him so that Sapphire could sneak up on him. Ruby took out a crystal ball drew his eyes, human nature made him gravitate to the mystery. Ruby made the ball float a feet in the air though the masked man suddenly lost interest.

"Do you think to challenge me with such a weak trick?" He scoffed. "I have years of experience, more than you can even hope. There is not a trick that you can perform that I cannot."

Ruby clenched his teeth, holding back the urge to just tackle the man. The wagon was full of candles and fight could easily lead to a fire. Sapphire was already inside, trying to free Dia and he wasn't going to risk either of their lives.

Sapphire had crept behind the box and tried to find a way to open it without the killer seeing her. She couldn't find a secret door or anything similar so looked around the wagon again. She suddenly had a thought, she could trap him. The only thing stopping the others from entering was the threat of the fire. All she had to do was put out the candles which was easy enough.

The killer turned when the candles suddenly went out one at a time. He swore and went to stop her but she easily ducked under his arm when he tried to catch her. She took one of the candle stick and hit him over the head with it. He moved so it hit his shoulder instead which paralyzed him long enough for her to rip off his mask.

He immediately raised his arm over his arm over his face so that cape covered his face. He backed up until he was blocked by the wall. Sapphire grinned, thinking that she had finally captured him. He merely pulled his cloak around him, turning in a circle until the cloak fell lightly to the ground, the killer gone.

She stood there in shock and barely noticed the others running into the wagon beside her. Ruby was beside her, gathering her in his arms, feeling her shake in anger. Missy ran to the box and threw open the door and found that it was empty. She looked down to see a Jack in the Box, the clown swinging from side to side, banging on the side. In one hand, it was holding a picture and she took it. She clenched her teethes and began to tear it apart, putting the pieces in her pocket.

"Where's Dia?" Pearl asked, frustrated that he had let his best friend get captured for the killed. Ruby walked next to the box and ran his hand over the ebony wood.

"Get back." He ordered and took the Jack in the Box. He would have to send it to Silver the moment they get into a town or city. Ruby then turned back to the box and closed the door. He tapped it several times before opening it again. Dia was on the ground, his temple bleeding slightly.

"Dia!" Missy fell on her knees next to him so she could put his head on her lap. He was so pale, but she could feel his pulse, which reassured her. She checked his wound and it reassured her that it was just a flesh wound. He didn't react to her cries and everyone gathered around them. Pearl pulled Dia's arm over his shoulder and helped him to his feet to bring him to Dia's trailer.

White went after them, ordering Black to get a first aid kit.

* * *

Sapphire cursed as she stood in the spot that the killer stood before he disappeared. She turned as he did but nothing happened. Ruby was more content with going through the man's mask. He had placed the cape she took from him under the Jack in the Box. He looked at the inside of the mask and saw a little logo on the inside corner.

"Damn it! How did he escape?" Sapphire stomped her feet, frustrated that she couldn't figure out his trick. Ruby looked up from the mask and watched her spin around again. He smiled at himself, admiring her body as she gracefully turned.

Not being able to help himself, he set the mask aside and went to her. He gently took her hand as she turned and pulled her closer to his body. She placed her hands on his shoulders to keep herself from falling and looked up into his eyes.

"May I have this dance my lady?" He asked, taking her smaller hand into his larger one and she rolled her eyes. She was going to pull away, she told herself but she couldn't take her hand from his.

"We should be trying to find some clues," She told him but that didn't seem to deter him as he turned with her in his arms. Her foot caught on something and they went tumbling to the ground with him on top of her. She blushed but tried to hide it by turning away.

"Please, don't turn from me, my gem." His lips whispered across her cheek, heading to her lips. She closed her eyes and found herself rising to meet his lips. She stopped when he touched her cheek, bringing her out of his illusion. She turned away and curled back into herself, placing a hand on his chest.

"What did I trip on?" She asked, ducking under his arms and crawled back to her feet. It was a little handle, painted to match the floor so well that she could barely see it. She hocked her feet under it and turned so that she lifted slightly. She moved slowly but she could easily imagine that with practise it one could make the motion look effortless. One might even do it effortless enough to create the illusion of a man disappearing through the floor.

Ruby sighed at her evasion and knelt next to her as she looked down the trap door. It led easily to the ground, right to the outside. That only solidified his suspicion that the killer was one of the performers. How else could he slip out without anyone noticing? He jumped down and traced the footprint there. The small space was so small that he had to crawl to get out from under the wagon.

He went back to the back of the wagon and held out a hand to help Sapphire down from the wagon. She reluctantly took it and stepped down from it. She wringed her hands together after she took it from his, feeling the heat still burn her from years ago every time they touched. She was still holding the killer's costume and the Jack in the Box in her other arm.

"I'll keep those safe," He offered and she only hesitated slightly before she handed them to him. He would probably send it to his police friends, which was better than it collecting dust in her trailer. She didn't like handing control over to anyone but it was for the best.

But the one thing she wouldn't hand him was her heart, despite the pleading in his eyes.

* * *

Missy took the wet cloth and dabbed it on Dia's cheek. He was flushed now and she hoped that he wouldn't develop a fever. They were far from any town and they might not have enough mendicant to help him.

Pearl was guilt ridden and would've be there beside her but she convinced him to rest while she watched over Dia. She laid her head next to his and began to whisper to him. He was in a fretful sleep right now and that made her feel safer as she spoke to him.

"I'm sorry," She began. "I didn't mean to bring you all such trouble. I could've helped you but it seems that my wealth can only do so much. In fact, it seems like it has caused more trouble than not. I will thank you though, for being so kind to me and I know that it is true. I always wonder if I ever lost this illusion, would you still be kind to me."

Missy raised her head and kissed his temple. She lifted his hand to her cheek and felt it curled toward her, reassuring her that he would live. She wasn't going to lose him, she decided, she refused to lose the only person that had truly been kind to her. He brought her to this circus and owed him for all the happiness she experienced in the few years and known him. "I will find that treasure. That treasure is my birthright and I shall use it to save this circus."

* * *

**"T" is for Tansy. I have a bad habit of using Silvia's OCs. Review if you liked. **


	4. Black Past

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**

**I lost a bet to my best friend and I am forced to write a scene. Can you find which one?**

* * *

"What happened?" Dia was woken by the shaking of the trailer. He was in his own bed but couldn't remember how he came there. He cracked an eye open to see Missy sleeping at the desk next to his bed. He groaned and raised his hand to his temple, wincing when he touched the gash. It was bandaged yet it still throbbed. He struggle to sit up and grabbed the edge of the lift himself up.

His eye caught something in the waste basket between the table and the bed. They were ripped pieces of paper and he took them out, laying them on his lap. He took the ones with similar texture and laid each one out to see if they created a picture. There was a picture on one side and words written on the other. Curious, he put the picture together first since it would be quickest.

Missy moved next to him and that pulled him away from the note. He set the pieces aside, under his pillow and took his jacket hanging on the bedpost so he could place it over her shoulders. His head still throbbed a little so placed the ripped pieces into the drawer next to her. He could always put it together later, right now his head hurt too much.

He set back on the bed and wondered about the note. He didn't recognize it and he wondered how it came to his trailer. Dia thoughts turned Missy and wondered how long she had slept in that uncomfortable position. He didn't know if he was his place to move her to the bed since it might not be proper is she woke up with him next to her.

She shifted uncomfortably again and that made his choice. He pulled out the chair she was sitting in and she swayed toward him in reaction. He blushed and placed a hand under her knee so he could lift her. She instinctively moved closer to him and he moved quickly to place her on the bed. He threw his blanket over her and sat on the edge.

"Dia?" She opened her eyes slowly but was awake with a start when she saw him leaning over her. It was mostly from seeing the bandages on his head. She sat up and rose so she could sit up. "You've just been hurt! You should be lying down, but don't go back to sleep. Are you feeling dizzy, nausea? Do you hear any ringing? If you were hit in the head, you might have a concussion."

Dia shook his head but she still looked skeptical at him. "What happened in the truck? Can you tell me anything about the masked man?"

"I remember suffocating at first. There was this strange Jack in the Box and I think that it was the candle. I don't know how I got into that box. The last thing I could remember was waking in this room with this large mirror. I don't even know if it was a mirror since I could barely see myself in it. I saw someone in the mirror putting on a mask but his back was turned to me."

"Did you see any detail?" She pushed.

Dia closed his eyes, trying to see that mirror again. He wasn't even sure that it was real since he remembered seeing dancing fairies in the background. Though Missy looked determined and he didn't want to disappoint her and concentrated more on the man. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't see him that clearly."

"That's okay," She told him softly. "Can you promise me that if you do remember anything, tell me first."

Dia heard the underlining words to her question, _don't tell anyone else_. He couldn't think of why she would want him to do such a thing and knew that he couldn't promise her that despite the desperation in her eyes. He couldn't keep this from Pearl and least of all the other performers when it could help their circus. It hurt him a little that she thought he would do something like that and he wondered what she had to hide.

"I'll tell you first," He told her though. He would tell her first but that wouldn't stop him from talking to Pearl. He really didn't want to think that Missy had an alternative motive and told himself that she wanted to solve the mystery without involving anyone else.

* * *

"I don't know why we have to be the one to get all of these fabrics when Ruby's making the costumes. He would be a better person to do so," Black complained, carrying bags and rolls of fabric, as he followed White who held only a list of items they needed to buy. People stared after him since Musha still clung to his head and they had to explain to police men several times that they were part of a circus.

They had traveled quickly the previous night to try to escape the killer. They had checked all the trailers and wagons to make sure that he wasn't stowed away and white felt confident that they outrun him. Now White and Black had drove into town while everyone else stayed behind to practice their act. She left Sapphire in charge.

"I have an eye for these things too," She told him and looked at the next thing on Ruby's very detailed list. He had the exact pattern drawn next to the simple designs he had in mind and even had squares of colours next to the patterns. She had some changes she wanted to make to them as well and was sure ruby wouldn't mind her tweaking some things here and there.

"Now the next item on the list should to get some more stuff for the magic show. Everything gotten old and it would be cheaper to just replace them than to refurnish them," She also wanted to get rid of the old magic stuff because she believed that the masked man might've used them. After asking directions to a local magic shop, she ordered Black to put them back in the car and join her later.

Black nodded and White waved him away as she made her way to the magic shop, following the direction the man had written on the back of her list. She barely noticed the people around her as she went through the list Ruby gave her. She didn't know what Ruby would want for his act but told herself that she could always call him later.

She entered the small shop, _Hocus Pocus_, and opened the door causing a bell to ring. Someone called out to her but her attention was still on the list. She put the list back in her bag and looked around the shop for someone to help her. She clicked the little bell at the counter and leaned against it as she waited for someone to come. As she waited she called Ruby and asked him if he needed anything for his act.

White walked around the store as he listed some small miscellaneous things that he needed. She came across a large tome on a stand and curiosity made her stop. It was an old magic book and she lazily turned the musty pages. She came across a trick that allowed the magician to create the illusion of a picture come alive. She closed it and brought it to the counter, wanting to buy the book. If she knew how the masked man did the tricks, she could have a better chance of protecting her circus. Ruby probably knew but she wanted to know for herself.

"Hello?" She called out when still no one came to assist her. She sighed and went in search of the things Ruby would need for his act. She found them all easily and dumped them on the counter but still no one came to help her. She puffed her cheeks and placed her hands on her hips. "Is there even anyone here?"

A thump sounded behind her and she turned but saw that no one was there. She scanned the room and jumped a little when she saw the eyes of a portrait move. She put a hand on her chest and told herself that it was nothing. This was a magic shop and that was probably just another illusion. She moved to the portrait to study it, wanting to figure out how the trick worked.

The portrait was firmly attached to the wall and she could feel any cracks in the painting. The eyes seemed to be paint and couldn't find anything more about it. She rose on her toes to look into the eye, trying to see if there was a spyglass in there. There was a scratching noise behind the wall but that didn't deter her curiosity.

She gasped and jumped back when the point of a dagger was thrust through the portrait's eye, almost blinding her. Her heart beat in her ears and she stood there shocked for a moment. She was about to dart out the door when someone called out to her.

"Young lady," She turned to see a tall man with long green hair stand behind her. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Help me? Did you just see that? I was almost blinded!" She turned back and pointed to the painting but saw that the dagger was gone. She stared at it in shock, not knowing what to say or do.

"I am N, is there anything I can help you find?" He asked as if she had just claimed a dagger was thrust through the wall. "Your purchases are on the counter and you want to buy them? Come and I shall do that for you. May, I ask what you are buying these for?"

"No thank you, I don't think I'll need them. Maybe just the magic book." She said quickly, not wanting to spend more time in this shop than need be. He nodded and walked behind the counter. She found herself talking about nothing really to fill the eerie silence in the room. "I'm buying this for my employee. He's a magician and-"

"You own a circus?" He asked suddenly. The sudden flash in his dead eyes made her hesitate before she shook her head yes. She started to explain her craft to the circus and her love for it made her go on despite the disapproval in his eyes. "I just bought it a couple years ago and I love the performance. It's not an easy business but a fun one, seeing all those people smile and have a fun time. The lights, the music, the magic, it'll never become dull to me. Have you ever been in a circle before?"

"Just once," He said through clenched teethes. "Do you have animals in this circus of yours?"

"Of-" She was cut off when someone suddenly pulled her away. She turned to see Black in his usual sweater but the hood was pulled over his head so she could barely see his face. Why would he be trying to hide in face in an already dark shop? "Wait, I need to get my purchases. Black? Black! Stop right now and just wait a minute!"

He didn't stop though and pulled her out the door. He ducked into the closest alley and pulled her against his chest. He looked out slightly to see N walk by leisurely. He sighed and released White. She gave him a questioning glare and knew that there was an onslaught of question his actions brought up.

"What was that?" She demanded. "Why did you pull me away when I was buying some things?"

"He wouldn't be able to help you. He doesn't work there," Black said simply. He didn't want to scare her but knew that there was no other way to explain it without going into too much detail. _Shit_, how did the man even find him again? There was no way he was going to jail, not when White needed him here.

"I promise, I'll explain everything later but you have to trust me on this." He told her and she reluctantly nodded. He knew that there was more she wanted to ask but pulled her away before she could. That action made her irritated. She wasn't going to be pulled around by a caveman, and she knew that Black was not one so this action confused her.

"You will explain _now_," She said once they were a safe distance from the crowd and in the car. She crossed her arms as he moved into the driver's seat. He slammed the door and drove away quickly. She turned away from him and looked out the window to see N staring after them. She found herself shrinking into the seat.

"I told you I can't explain!" He insisted and pressed harder on the gas than he usually would. She clutched the chair at the speed they were going at she didn't know if they would be able to stop. She turned to him and they were something angry in his eyes. He wasn't an angry person so wondered what brought this out to him.

He breathed out sharply and Musha on his head allowed him to sort out his thoughts. She didn't deserve his rage. She also deserved the truth. He kept his eyes on the road, not able to look at White. He felt her gaze on him but ignored it, not being able to fully block her out as he did with his past.

"I'm sorry Prez," He started. "I just want to protect you. Just trust me on this, okay?"

_How can I trust you when I don't know everything?_ She opened the window and looked up, letting the breeze cool her anger. _Have I ever known you?_

* * *

Ruby rubbed the fabric between his fingers, feeling the texture. It was smooth silk and if he closed his eyes, he could believe that it was Sapphire's cheek beneath his fingers. He set the fabric down on her bed and picked up one of the other materials spread across Sapphire's bed. He had already finished most of the designs for the other performers, wanting to leave Sapphire's for last so he could put more attention into it.

Though, this design wasn't coming to him as quickly as it had in the past. In the years since he met her, any design he made was inspired by her beauty. This should be the same, so why was it so hard? He tapped his pencil on the sketch pad, trying to force an image into his head. This was very much an art to him, a visual medium he could expressed himself through.

Hitting another wall where Sapphire was concerned, he threw the pad back onto the bed. He leaned back against the bed post and turned slightly to see the array of framed photos on her dressing table. He smiled when he saw that the artificial rose he gave her yesterday was placed in the mirror. It must mean that she still had _some_ feelings for him if she kept the rose.

He took one of the photos, hoping that it would give him some inspiration. It was a picture of when she was young, maybe five in age next to her father and twin, May. He recognized her instantly as the little girl on the left with her wide grin despite the fact the two little girls looked exactly the same. He picked up another frame, this time it was an article about the circus. He didn't read the text, just more interested in the group photo of the circus.

He didn't hear the door open so the pillow hitting his temple took him by surprise. He looked up to see an enraged Sapphire stand over him, still armed with the pillow and a deadly intent in her eyes. Her chestnut hair was wet from her shower and a towel covering her body. She pulled it over her body tighter and looked frantically over the room for some clothes.

Ruby was blushing a little as well and he shrugged of his sweater and passed it to her. She took it, still holding the towel to herself and glared at him, her eyes telling him to turn away. He held up his hand in defence and turned. She quickly put on his sweater and searched her dresser for some leggings. When she was dressed, she turned to Ruby still on her bed and yelled.

"What are ya doing in my trailer?"

Ruby just shrugged, "You still leave your key in that little hiding spot. I wanted to get started in your costume but you were still practising so just thought to wait in your trailer. I don't see anything wrong in waiting. I used to do it all the time, remember?"

She flushed, with anger or embarrassment he didn't know but the blush showed that she did remember all their late night escapades. Despite her embarrassment, she yelled: "Ya broke into my trailer while I was in the shower and ya don't find anything creepy about that? What would make this creepier is if you already knew my measurements."

Ruby grinned at her and she threw her hands into the air. "I still have them from the first outfit I made you. Now what colour would you like to wear? You can't go out wearing leaves anymore. I'm thinking a nice electric blue, just enough to bring out your eyes. I know your stage name is the Jungle Girl but we can still have you wear some blue or change the name."

"People won't be able to see my eyes when I ten feet above the ground," she pointed out the obvious detail he had probably forgotten. "I don't want anything too fancy, so no bows, ribbons or any of that. I have to be able to move during my trapeze act and can't do that with so much weight on my body."

"Of course," He had already made notes of that but still wanted to make her something special. He had speared out several fabrics on her bed so she could pick one that she liked. She ran her hand over them and he moved next to her.

"Please, don't try anything." She moved away from him so that there was more distance between them. He sighed and didn't move closer to her despite his body telling him to gather him in his arms. How did he fall in love with the most stubborn woman in the world? How could he woo her when she constantly pushed him?

Her brushed hair from her temple and knew that no matter what, he would win her back. She pulled away and started going through his sketch book. He noticed the she kicked something further beneath her bed and wondered what it could be. He sat at her dressing table and absentmindedly ran his hand under the table.

His hand caught on something and his brows drew together when his fingers caught on something. It was so small that others would look over. He tried not to react too much to it and moved away from it. Sapphire, who was lying on the bed, jumped back a little when Ruby sudden came above her, and he placed his hands besides her head, trapping her beneath him. She blushed and began to push at his chest but he placed his lips next to her ear and whispered, "There's some spy gear in your trailer. Don't react to it."

Ruby's voice was angry but tried to hold it back. How dare someone try to spy on his gem? He wanted to find the masked man and wring his neck. Who knew how much that man saw of her? He couldn't let his anger take over him and cloud his common sense. Did the killer do this for others? He hadn't checked his own trailer yet so didn't know if there were any.

If he reacted, the killer would know that Ruby knew about the spy gear, something that a regular magician wouldn't know. He had to keep his façade to solve this mystery and Sapphire would hate him for deceiving her.

"He's watching us?" Her breath brushed against his cheek and his mind went blank for a moment. The familiar heat of her body beneath him distracted him for a moment.

"It's probably him," He nodded and whispered so that the killer wouldn't be able to hear them. "I'll get rid of all of the bugs so don't worry about that. We can't let him know that we suspect anything though. So let put on a show for him. I want you to slap me across the face and run out."

"Why would I-" she was but of when he suddenly kissed her. She was so shocked that she didn't react at first. His warm lips on hers sent her emotions into a spiral. She should've pushed him away right away but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She thought that she wouldn't be able to feel this again when he left and this brought back so many bittersweet memories.

How many times had she fallen under his spell just by a touch? His kissed was passionate, trying to bring forth the reaction he wanted and she found herself followed him. His kissed became gentle and raised his hand to her cheek. There was something odd in this kiss, it was a sorry. A sorry for their past or present, she didn't know.

All too suddenly, he broke the kiss. His eyes, intense with emotions, he stared down at her, "slap me."

Her heart broke a little but slapped him hard across the face, probably a little harder than she would need to. She pushed him off her and ran out of her own trailer. She stumbled out and her eyes caught Wally's sympathetic ones. She could take any more pity from her friends and ran behind her trailer. She pressed a hand to her chest and tried to keep her tears from spilling over.

His kiss wasn't a sorry, it was just a performance to trick the killer if he were watching. It was nothing more than another illusion.

* * *

Ruby cursed at himself. He let his body lead and kissed her when all she needed to do was yell and slap him. He took it too far by kissing her, something he knew she didn't want. But once he started, he couldn't stop himself. As if that one kiss would be able to fix every lie they told each other. He held a hand to his cheek, it stung but he could barely feel it with all of the emotions he was trying to sort out.

He forced himself not to think about that and went to her dresser. He couldn't let himself scramble to rage but it seemed that in the end he always ran from his problems. He couldn't do either now, he had to stay and help Sapphire. He also had a job to do, taking down a killer. What he would do after he won Sapphire back and bring the killer to justice, he did know.

He went to work, debugging her room. He didn't want the killer to be watching Sapphire for more than just the fact that they were going to speak about the killer but it was an invasion of her privacy. He sighed when he was finished with debugging her room. He sat at her dressing table and began to scribe a note to apologize. He didn't know if she would speak to him after that kiss but wanted to have his words.

There was a knock on Saph's door and went to answer it. To his surprise, and disappointment, it wasn't Sapphire but Black. The other man didn't give Ruby time to react before he pushed his way in. He looked around and saw that Sapphire wasn't there. He didn't seem to question why Ruby was in her room either.

"I know you're an undercover detective," Black stated as soon as ruby closed the door. "And if you don't help me then I'll tell everyone the truth."

Ruby felt as if he was slapped. Black's face was very serious and knew that he meant the words. Ruby didn't know how he found out about his occupation but knew that Sapphire wouldn't forgive him for this deception. But first he needed to know how this man found out so he could stop others from finding out as well.

"How did you find out about me?" Ruby demanded though he wasn't in any position to do so.

"I'm not stupid and if you hit something hard enough, it'll break. I need someone to help me so I looked into your past. I found that you used to be a police from the other performers and after some more research I found that you specialize in undercover from Wally. You said you were retired but from your reaction, I must say that you're not."

Ruby cursed himself for reacting too quickly and the loose tongues of the other performers. Black crossed his arms. "So are you going to help me?"

"Have you given much choice?"

* * *

**Did you find it? :P Review if you liked.**


	5. Book of Fire

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**

* * *

"Desperate men, do desperate things." Wally agreed with the woman on the other phone. He chuckled at her response. He nonchalantly tossed the knife in the air, catching it between his fingertips. From the corner of his eyes he saw movement in the window. He studied the people walking by but not really seeing anyone.

"Black isn't giving me much trouble," Wally answered after a pause, they were near a town so this was one of the few times he could call his mentor on his personal phone. All the other times, they had to rely on a radio to communicate with anyone. "I should be able to manipulate him easily if he wants to keep everyone from know his secrets. And since he enlisted Ruby's help, we have him in the palm of our hand too. Black just went to him with the information I gave him. Do you have anything on this N character?"

"Still going through all his records," He could hear ruffling in the background so he knew she was going through a lot of files. He knew that with a crowd as large as this circus, it was difficult for her to gather as much information as she would like. But they needed to, if they were able to keep control of this circus.

He nodded as she spoke some more. His instinct took over and threw the knife, pinning a fly to the wall. He sighed at his nervousness and continued to go over everything, "Everyone is going into town today so only a few people are still her so I can search without much question. But damnit, I searched everywhere for that damn treasure and with White making it harder…"

"Don't worry, I know you can handle this," She said despite the direness of their situation. "You're the mastermind, after all. You'll find a way to make this show work for you. Just don't get yourself discovered. Tansy misses you, so come back safe."

"I miss her too," Wally sighed and went back to his work, lighting a match for a candle.

* * *

Ruby cursed at himself, how could he have been so easily trapped so soon? He had Silver cover his tracks well enough so unless they dug deep, they shouldn't be able to find anything about him. Yet here Black was with enough blackmail to tie his hands. Black stood in front of him with his arms crossed, daring Ruby to go against him. Now he was pulled on two different directions, needing to help both Sapphire and Ruby.

"You're a police," Black said it more as a statement than a question. "And since you were sent here undercover, you must have some idea where the treasure is. Together we can find it and help White by saving the circus. Sapphire's going to help too so we'll have this finish by the end of the week!"

"Leave Saph out of this," Ruby snapped. "She is not going to find out that I deceived her and ruin everything I've been working towards. I came here to win her back and taking this case was the only way I could do that. I'll only help you if you keep this from Sapphire."

"Fine, but you'll have to promise me that you won't tell White about this either. I don't want to… worry her," Ruby saw through the lie immediately. If only Ruby could find what Black was trying to hide so that he could counter blackmail him. The first place to talk was probably with White. He couldn't do that since Black never left White's side most of the time.

* * *

"I don't know why you want me to do this," Sapphire held onto Ruby's arm as she leaned a little too far to see into White's trailer door so that she would've fallen is she wasn't holding onto him. She saw White going through several things and Black was trying to keep her organize by collecting all of the flying paper and staking them on the table.

"Black," Ruby set her aside and walked into the trailer. "I want to speak with you about something. This thing I found in the wagon with all of the props has a strange engraving on it. Maybe you can help me find what it means."

"I don't want to leave White when she's in the middle of planning this," Black hesitated, looking at White who was so caught up in her own little performance, she didn't notice Ruby enter. He knew that she was a focused person and when she got so caught up in her work, it could be hours before she came back to the real world. And it was his job to help her through this and keep her organizes.

"I'll help her!" Sapphire volunteered, just as Ruby had told her to do. Ruby had predicted Black would react like this. Ruby was always so good at reading people and predicting their reactions but sometimes she hated that about him because he could also be so ignorant over their feelings.

"C'mon Black," Ruby grabbed the man's shoulder a little too roughly, just for the pleasure of it and dragged him away. He gave Sapphire a nod as the exited and she did so too. She looked out the window until she saw the two disappear. She then went to White who was making a sketch of the new posters she wanted to make for the circus.

"Do ya need any help?" Sapphire asked as she went to lean over White's shoulder. It was only after several sketches and erasing, did White answer her.

"What do you think of it?" White leaned back so Sapphire would see the poster. It was of Missy who stood in the center, holding a mask over half her face and holding a diamonds in her other hand, as if toward the audience. "I wanted to re-name to circus to Circ du Gems because of the legend, gives a little mystery to this circus to attract people to it. Missy portrays her character as pretty mysterious character so I put her on the cover. I'm sure she won't mind. Every show has a gimmick, and I'm thinking mystery."

White put her head down to add more things into the background but then it came back up, "Where's Black? What happened to this room? There's crumpled paper everywhere on the floor! Tell Black to clean this up while I go get more colours for this."

"Wait," Sapphire went to stop her before she was out the door. "I wanted to ask you some things. I've noticed that Black has been acting a little weird lately and I wanted to know if you've noticed anything. Since he works with the animals, it might have an effect on them."

White sat back and tapped her chin as she thought back to the previous day, "He has been acting weird I guess that guy might have something to do with it. I really don't know but I'm sure he'll tell me if it's really important and I already asked Wally to look into N for me. He seems to know a lot about these things and he told me that N has been known as a violent protestor. Black was just trying to protect me."

"Everyone seems to tell Wally everything," She said a little sad that others in the circus didn't trust her as she did them. Most of the original performers retires already and the new connections weren't as powerful she thought they were. "But I was really wondering about his past; if he might've gotten into trouble"

"Black? Of course he doesn't have a dark past. I'm sure Black's just trying to protect me," She said softly to herself more than anyone, as if Sapphire didn't say anything. White didn't seem to believe in her own words though but quickly switched emotions to happiness. "Now, come and show me your new routine."

White took Sapphire's arm gently and led her out of her office. "I'm usually not one to go into other's business but I was thinking about you and Ruby teaming up for a performance. I'm thinking 'Lost Lovers' or we can retell the legend of this circus, have Black lend his lions. I just thought with the connection you two have, you two would be perfect for the part."

"No," Sapphire snapped but White didn't seem fazed by that. White just continued to walk through the camp, helping other performers as they walked. Sapphire knew that White wasn't ignorant and could tell her hesitation. "I'm not gonna' team up with that man!"

"I really don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do," She said with exaggerated sadness. White had been in charge of the circus long enough to know that she was trying to guilt her into the act. She breathed in deeply, sure that she could convince White to not let her do the act.

"I'll just get Pearl and Poppy to do it. Think of what she could do with her Fire Dancing! But then again, Pearl never did an act without Dia but I'm sure it'll work." White's eyes glowed as she imagined the act. She quickly pulled out her notebook from her bag and sat on a large rock to sketch a rough storyboard for it. The sketches weren't that impressive but she could see the emotions in them.

White noticed that Sapphire was staring and remembered that Sapphire hadn't watched her work before. "I always wanted to be a playwright so that kinds of blends into this. I want to tell a story, create an experience that no one will forget. Now let's go, and you can show me your routine again."

Sapphire nodded and went to where the trapezes were set up. She stopped though when she saw there was wrapped present on the platform. There was no tag and she was curious and the emerald wrapping paper. The platform wasn't that tall so she could easily reach it and leaned against it.

"Someone has a secret admirer," White teased as she looked over her shoulder at the gift.

"It's not addressed to me," Sapphire said quickly. "It could be for anyone really."

"Who else could it be for? You're the only trapeze artist here so it's obvious meant for you. Now open it, I want to see what it is."

Sapphire sighed, thinking that she might as well. She tore away at the paper and saw that it was a tome. She flipped through the pages and saw that it was in fact a magic book. Her first thought was of Ruby since he was a magician but what use would it be to her? He should know that about her at least and that only made her think that the gift was meant for someone else.

"Can I see that?" White took the tome and her eyes furrowed at it. Her voice was a little hesitant as she said, "This is the tome I sent Black to get for me. I'll just take this to my trailer! I'll see your routine later. Good luck with Ruby by the way."

White quickly ran off to her trailer, leaving Sapphire behind in confusion. She closed the door behind her threw the tome onto her desk. It was the magic book from the shop yesterday and she wondered how it came, wrapped as if it was a present. She held her breath as she opened the cover but let out the breath when she read the typed note tucked in the cover. _Hope this help you, from a friend_.

This must've been Black's apology for yesterday and she sighed in relief. She sat at her desk and flipped through the tome, trying to memorize as many of the tricks as possible so she could have an edge of the killer. If she knew the trick before he came back, she could stop him and save the lives of her performers!

She took the cup of coffee on the desk she assumed Black left for her and took a dainty sip.

* * *

Missy paced her trailer, thinking of the killer. She couldn't stay any longer if the police got involved and they were bound to come sooner or later. She bit her bottom lip, trying to think of another way than to leave and not have them unravel her illusion. She didn't know if she would be able to create another life for herself.

Forcing herself to stay calm, she sat at her vanity, trying to think over everything. The police could come and ask questions she couldn't answer. More importantly, the killer was interested in a legend she had created. She had made a deal with the previous owner that he didn't tell White about when he sold her this circus.

She forced emotions from her body and sat straighter. She would have to leave or else he would find her.

"Running away again?" Missy looked up sharply to see the killer in her mirror. Her body froze as she swallowed heavily. She wished that she wasn't wearing that mask so that she could read his emotions more easily. She tried to hide her emotions as best as possible and looked at his figure in the mirror. "Just tell me where the treasure is."

"I don't have any money!" She slammed her hands on the vanity and turned sharply but knew that it was only her imagination haunting her. She was slowly losing herself by pretending to be someone she wasn't. Her haven was crumbling around her.

She couldn't go back to her old life! She would have to run and create a new identity for herself again.

Missy tried to calm herself by humming a lullaby as she pulled out a wooden box from under her bed. She frantically placed her golden earrings into the small wooden box. Her humming stopped mid note when she realized that she didn't have any more jewelry. She sighed and shut the wooden box. She needed more before she was forced to leave this place and make a new life for herself. She didn't have anything more to give away for money.

She could on and do more readings but that wouldn't be a reliable occupation in this day and age. It relied on other's superstitions too much and today that was a dying ideology. She guessed she could go to a fishing town where fishermen were more superstitious but that was a long way and she didn't have the money for the trip.

She pulled the small waste bucket from beside her desk to take the ripped pieces of the note she took from the Jack in the Box. She couldn't leave anything of her behind and it would be safer to just burn the pieces. Her heart stopped when she couldn't find them. She quickly dumped the contents of the wastebasket onto the ground and scurried through the loose paper but she couldn't find it.

Where was it? It was the only thing connecting her to this circus and she needed to disappear again!

"Missy?" There was a knock at her door and she scrambled to hide the papers again. She just placed the waste basket back in place when Dia opened the door. She composed herself easily and sat at her vanity again, shuffling her tarot cards.

"Is there a problem?" She asked him calmly despite the raging emotions she repressed.

"No, I was just checking on you. I wanted to thank you for taking care of me again. You've been pretty quiet lately and Pearl and I am worried about you. If there's _anything_ you want to talk about, you can tell me. Please tell me what's on your mind."

She sighed, it was obvious that Dia knew more than he was letting on and she wondered just how much he knew. It was possible that he was only pulling at straws right now and he only knew that she had a secret. She hated having to deceive him and leaving this circus with so many problems.

"I'm just a little worried about my sister," She admitted to him. "She hasn't contacted me for a while and I wonder if she even misses me right now."

_That's because you didn't tell her where you were going_, she chided herself. She winced at own thoughts but looked up when Dia knelt in front of her. He placed a hand on her cheek and tried to give her a reassuring smile. "You know, that's the first time you've told me something about yourself. I want to help you but you need to help me too. If anyone's bothering you-"

Missy's hand went instinctively to her cheek and Dia felt his fist tightening. "Who've hurt?"

"No one!" She said quickly. "I'm just worried that my sister will fall in with the wrong crowd. I wish that I can speak with her again."

"That seems simple enough," He nudged her chin up to look him in the eye. He knelt over her and placed his forehead on hers. "We're almost to that hotel where I met you and that's our next performance. We can stop there after the show and go visit your sister. Will that help?"

Missy didn't say a word and just stared down at their joined hands. He was truly trying to help her but it wasn't possible for that to happen. She didn't want to return to her family despite her worry about her sister. She couldn't tell him that though and nodded. Her heart ached when he smiled at her, lighting up a small space in her heart.

* * *

"Watch out Sapphire!" Pearl cried and Sapphire stumbled back when little balls of fire almost burned her. Poppy quickly pulled back on the strings so it didn't hit Sapphire and dipped the flaming poi in a bucket of water, steam rising from the water. Poppy stopped immediately and started to apologize to Sapphire quickly.

"It's alright, you just didn't see her," Pearl assured her. They had just started practicing their new routine when Sapphire walked by. Sapphire just smiled and tried to calm the woman, knowing that Poppy wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone. "But let's start from the beginning! These drawings White gave me are a little confusing. What am I supposed to be doing in this scene?"

Sapphire looked over his shoulder so she could see what was written and told him bluntly, "You're supposed to kiss her."

Pearl blushed and turned to Poppy who turned the same shade as her namesake flower. She was saved from commenting when another performer called to her. She bide them both good bye before running to help the other performer. She smiled warmly at him and he found himself smiling back at her.

"I never seen you smile like that before," Sapphire noted. "I guess that's why White wanted you and Poppy to do this act. It's going to be the big opening so how is it going so far?"

"It was going find but now it's just going to be awkward," Pearl huffed and went to study the routine again. "I don't know why White didn't just get you and Ruby to do this act. He's an actual magician and you're good with the animals. It would fit the story better than to change it to a clown and fire dancer."

Sapphire mumbled something beneath her breath and absentmindedly took the fire poi Poppy left. She flinched when the two metal spheres clicked together and sparked to life. She quickly placed it into the bucket of water, placing a hand over her heart. She chastised herself, she knew better than to use circus equipment she wasn't trained for.

She felt someone's hands on her hips and she turned to see Ruby looking worriedly at her. He frowned at the defiance in her eyes and turned to Pearl, his eyes pleading him for privacy. He nodded and Ruby silently thanked the man. Ruby turned back to Sapphire who entangled her fingers, keeping her eyes lowered.

He had been helping Black with the lions when he saw Sapphire go a little too close to fire and his heart stopped at the thought that she would die in a fire. He was so relieved when he saw Poppy pull back on the poi's, just barely missing her, his legs turned to water. He just wanted to take her into his arms and protect her despite the protest she would most likely give him.

"There were sparks on your clothes. I didn't want your clothes to catch fire." He explained but didn't take his hands from her hips. She scowled up at him and easily turned her body so she wasn't in his arms. She shook none existent dust from her body so she could keep her hands busy. She bit her lips when disappointment clouded his eyes but he masked it with optimism. If only she had as much faith in their love as him.

How much patient did this man have? How long would it be till he gave up on her? Would it break her heart when that did happen, proving that there was still a little hope in her heart. She didn't know what scared her more, the hope she held or him leaving with her heart.

"I really don't want to deal with this," She told him honestly. "I don't know if I can take anymore so just leave and break my heart already instead of bleeding me out slowly! I can't take this anymore, your constant presence and the guilt I feel! Just go and be with May!"

She turned to run but he grabbed her arm, turning her back and she saw the clear rage in his eyes. "How many times do I have to say that I love you? Do you think that I'm really that stupid? I know what's in my heart and it's only you! I love you and I don't know why you can't believe that after everything I'm doing to win you back."

Sapphire couldn't answer him and turned away. Something caught her attention though: the smell of smoke. Poppy was the only performer that used fire and she left her poi behind so it couldn't be from her. Black came next to them and noticed the smell as well. He had been working with Ruby on a costume for the animals when Ruby suddenly bolted to Sapphire.

Musha seem to notice it too for the small lion jumped off Black's head and ran in a familiar direction. Black cursed, recognizing that it was from White's trailer. His heart stopped when he saw that Musha was heading towards White's office. He ran before his mind could register the fear or the reason for it. He had to get to her before anything happened to White!

He cursed when he came to her small trailer and saw that it was ablaze. What was it with this killer and fire? Everyone was gone for the day and he wished that he was there by her side. He should've been there by her side but he failed her, now she was in danger. If protecting her from his past wasn't hard enough, there was a killer trying to pick them apart one by one.

"White!" He called into the smoke. He wasn't sure if she was in there but he couldn't take the chance. He tried to open the door but that only accomplished burning his hand. He crashed through the door, clutching his throbbing hand as the door splintered under his weight. He covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve as heat rushed toward him.

The inside was aflame and his eyes stung by the heat. He immediately saw White slumped on the ground by her chair. He was glad that she was on the ground so that the smoke couldn't reach her. He gathered her to his chest and felt relief when he felt her soft breath on his neck.

Black cursed when he went to the door and it caved in. blocking it in with flames. He pulled her closer to his body, trying to protect her from the flames. She was much too still for his likely and fear took him over. He needed to bring her outside before the smoke got to them both. He need both of his hands to carry White and began to panic.

"Musha!" He called and the lion who was trailing at his feet and the creature jumped onto his head.

He felt himself calming and cleared his head, closing his eyes, seeing the scene and calculating his options. He took his whip and with a quick turn of his wrist, the whip moved like snake, wrapping around one of the lower wooden planks of wood at the bottom. He pulled with all his might and the piece came loose, causing the other pieces to come loose as well, freeing the opening. He brought her outside, not noticing the firemen surrounding them, putting out the fire.

"C'mon White, come back to me." He collapsed onto the ground and placed her on the ground. The other men came around them and he had to fight back the urge to pull her out of the paramedics' reach but knew that they were only trying to help. He stared down at her smote covered face and he wanted to wash them away.

"Let me help her son," One of the men took White and Black nodded. They did a quick check up on her and Black held her breath as they went over her. Black held her hand the entire time and followed them into the ambulance, yelling for Wally to take care of the place while they were going. "I'll call you guys when we reach the hospital!"

* * *

**Just finished reading the X and Y chapters of PokeSpe and I have to say that X is really giving Silver a run for the number three spot for my fav guy character in PokeSpe. Though I like him without his hat better than not.**

**I pretty sure I use Silvia's OCs too much but I can't help it! I just wish that she'll write more of them so I can portray them more accurately. Her OCs are Tansy and Poppy by the way.**

**Review if you liked.**


	6. Ringleader in a Box

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**

* * *

Black was never a very patient person; he would be the first to tell you that. So it was difficult for him to only sit, waiting for the doctors to allow him to see White. He paced the hall outside the room, fighting the urge to break down the door to see White. But he knew that the nurses were watching him carefully and that he would be kicked out before he could see White.

"Excuse me," A nurse came up to him. "Are you related to Miss. Blanche? The doctor said it's alright for visitors but only for a little while."

"I'm close enough to White," Black said, not wanting to lie but wanting to see her. He saw her skeptical look so he added quickly, "We're engaged. I really want to see her, just to make sure she's okay."

The woman nodded and brought him to White's room, opening the door for him. Black went immediately to White's side and took her hand. It angered him to see her lay lifeless in the white sheets with tubes in her arm and wearing breathing mask. He wanted nothing more than to find the killer and chock the life from him. The man tried to kill her for some stupid treasure that might not even exist!

He suddenly felt weak, sitting next to her. He sighed heavily, it didn't help that her skin was so pale which was made more prominent by her dark brown hair. He turned to the nurse who was staying behind him, taking some notes on White's condition. "When will she wake up?"

"Luckily she was on the ground when the fire started so the smoke didn't reach her but she has some burns, nothing too bad though. She's not going to regain consciousness for a couple hours because we found some drugs in her system."

"Drugs?" Black snapped but then caught himself, knowing that his anger was misdirected. "I've been by her side throughout the day. He had been by White's side most of the week, how could someone drug her without him knowing?

"Just normal prescribed sleeping pills," She explained, seeing the questions in his eyes. "It was probably put into her drink since we didn't find any puncture wounds on her body so it couldn't be injected. It should wear off in an hour or so and she'll be all right. Do you want me to give you some time alone with her?"

"Yes, please." Black nodded but barely heard her close the door softly. He vowed to find the killer and bring him to justice, by his own hands or the law. It was no doubt N trying to destroy his life! The man already drove him away from a job he loved and know he was going to hurt his best friend. It was bad enough that he was running from the law, mostly due to N's work.

He looked back up at the clock and saw that visiting hour was almost over but didn't want to leave her when she would wake up. He wanted her to at least know that he was by her side. He cradled her hand in his, very delicate yet strong and creative. He was glad it wasn't burned, knowing that it would make it more difficult for her to make her screen plays.

He took off his watch and placed it around her waist, hoping that the doctors wouldn't take it from her. He was sure that she would recognize it since she gave to him as a birthday present. He didn't want to take it from her, feeling a little guilty that he was deceiving her and taking advantage of her kindness. Though she could be very manipulative when it came to making her circus the best it could be.

"Mr. Noir? There is a Wally outside looking for you." He looked up when the nurse re-entered. Black nodded and reluctantly left White's side.

* * *

"It's safe," Sapphire insisted as she pulled Ruby toward the charred trailer that was once White's office. He hesitated looking at the ashes on the ground and worried about the lingering smell of decay. How could she so easily go into that death trap? The ashes would most likely ruin his clothes beyond repair!

Sapphire made a face at him, puffing her cheeks and placing her hands on her hips. "We need to solve this and there might be some clues on what caused the fire in there! Now come on or I'll take on of your hats, place one speck of dirt on it and you won't know which one. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Never thought you'll actually want me to go with you," Ruby mumbled beneath his breath and followed her into the trailer. He would never understand her changing moods, she would push him away when trying to romance her yet now she was dragging him into this shabby trailer.

He immediately brought his sleeve to his nose at the horrible smell. His eyes caught on a Jack in the Box on White's table which caused him to pause. It wasn't charred as it should've been in the event of a fire. His expert eye saw that the pattern was similar to the one he found with Dia that day. He turned the handle slowly, at the same time he could feel Sapphire lean over his shoulder.

"Do you still have the other Jack in the Box?" Ruby asked her and he felt her nod more than he saw her. He had asked her to keep it since he wanted to build a trust with her and he didn't want Wally to come over it. It wasn't that Ruby didn't trust Wally, he just didn't want to risk it.

"I'll send it to my friend for prints as well as this one. I don't think this belongs to White and by the pattern in the ash, I think it was placed here after the fire was put out." Ruby didn't flinch when the Jack jumped out but something picked his interest. It wasn't a clown like before, but a ringleader. He placed the box into a bag and set it aside, "We should find as much as we can in an hour since we're going to be leaving soon and we need to go into town to send this to Silver."

Ruby pulled on gloves, careful to not leave any prints and saw Sapphire do the same. He looked over the foot prints on the ground. They wouldn't be any use since the firefighters already contaminated the evidence enough and prints were just the beginning. He cursed at it and went through White's desk again, and noticed the glass scattered over the desk among the ashes.

"The firemen said it was caused by a candle." Sapphire said, looking at the broken piece of the candle globe. She moved beyond the desk and looked up at the hole in the roof where it caved in, almost taking White and Black's lives with it. "First Dia, and now White… Who do you think is next?"

"If we want to answer that, we have to figure out why those two were chosen first. What can the killer gain from attacking those two? Besides the obvious, of course." Ruby stated and Sapphire rolled her eyes at his words. Did he have to try to explain everything to her as if she couldn't figure it out for herself? She was used to people underestimating her intelligence but she hoped that Ruby would see more in her.

"Well, beside pissing off Black and making him desperate," Sapphire shrugged. "I don't know why he's trying to make an enemy of him. And this killer seems to have a thing for Jack in the Box and fire since the last two times he tried to kill someone, it was with fire."

"_Friendship caught on fire_," Ruby muttered to himself and Sapphire turned her eyes up, meeting his. She moved back when he cupped her face and her heart stopped when he looked at her intently. He took a napkin from his pocket and wet it with his tongue, to wipe some soot from her cheek, bringing her closer to him as he did so.

"Friendship caught on fire?" She asked breathlessly and he leaned closer to her but she didn't move away, caught by the fire in his eyes.

"Love," he whispered. "_Love is friendship caught on fire_. I was thinking about a magic act that was focused on fire that he might've drawn inspiration from. There was an act where a magician told the story of how he fell in love with his best friend and he used that quote. I don't think this killer would just set this place on fire. This is an act to him and we're just props."

"But no one was here to see him, why would he care about putting on an act? It would just be easier for him to light a match to this place," Sapphire pointed out, ducking away from his gaze so she wasn't a captive to her heart. She reminded herself that she had to think with her head if she were to get through this without a broken heart.

"If there isn't anything more here, we should send this to your friend now," She moved quickly around him, taking the bag from his at the same time. He could do nothing more than to stare after her and sighed. He was so close to kissing her again but she turned away. Then again, this probably wasn't the best time to be romancing her but he couldn't help but try to steal a kiss with her so close.

He followed her out of the burnt trailer and to her own, giving her some much wanted space on her part. Her steps were delicate and precise, drawing his gaze to her bare feet. He flinched at the thought of them being marred by dirt or scarred by forgotten rubble but didn't voice it because he knew that she wouldn't listen to them. She was so stubborn sometimes.

She entered her trailer quickly and came out with the Jack in the Box just as quickly. He was glad that she was wearing gloves so that her prints wouldn't appear on the box. He placed that in the bag as well and carried both bags despite Sapphire's protest. He merely hooked his arm around hers and led her toward the truck.

"Can we walk?" She asked, despite knowing that he would most likely say no due to the dirt of the road. "It'll take too much time to unhook the trailers from the truck, and it's only twenty minute walk to town. We can catch a ride with Black to get back to the circus too."

To her surprise, he smiled and brought her away from the truck. He stopped though and suddenly knelt in front of her, taking off his shoes. She had to hold onto his shoulders to keep her balance when he took one of her foot into his hands. She raised her brow when he placed his shoe on her feet and did the same with her other foot. He stood and held out a hand to her again.

"I can't let you walk all the way to town barefoot and let such lovely feet be marred with blisters."

"What about you?" She asked seeing his crisp white socks and wondered how he could bare the dirt that would no doubt ruin his socks. Ruby was thinking of that too but told himself that it would be worth it if he could win her back with the gesture. To show that there could be compromise between them.

"I'm wearing socks, that should be enough," he pulled her toward the old dirt road toward the town. "If I didn't know better, I would think that you were trying to spend more time with me by walking."

She rolled her eyes and eased her hand from his arm. He caught the slight blush on her cheek before she turned away from him. She walked several steps in front of him and followed her. "Why in the world would I want to spend more time with a prissy like ya? Let's just get to town so we can send these to your police friend."

Ruby only smiled as he followed her, several steps behind her. He came into step next to her and linked his arm around hers. They just walked in quiet, neither knowing what to say without causing another argument. So he only pulled her closer to him and she leaned her head against his shoulder, walking toward town in silence. Ruby wanted to whisper that he loved her but didn't want another argument.

He just basked in the silence and walked next to her, basking in feeling her heat next to him. He almost didn't hear the sound of a car coming down the road. He just thought that it was just another car driving into town. Sapphire noticed this too and her noise twitched at the smell of the gas. She turned slightly and looked over her shoulder to see that the car was coming much too quick.

The windows were tinted so she couldn't see who was driving and she didn't like that fact and that the model was so common any number of people can own such a car. At the last moment, the car turned toward them and she reacted just as quickly, pulling on Ruby's arm so that they rolled away from the car. They rolled out of the car's path easily, with her sprawled across him.

She pushed herself to her knees and saw the car drive away. She quickly memorized the license plate of the car. She knew that the car had meant to kill them and cursed, slamming her fist down. Ruby groaned beneath her and she realized that she pounded his chest and was straddling him.

"Sorry," She said quickly, getting to her feet and went to pick up the Jack in Boxes she dropped when she pushed Ruby aside. She blushed to the roots of her hair but held out her hand to Ruby to help him up. Electricity shot up her spine when he took her hand and he stood next to her.

"Did you get the licences?" He asked and she nodded though he was looking after the car frowning so she didn't know if he actually saw her nod. How could he not notice the car coming? Sapphire almost died because of his carelessness! He pulled her into his side, just to feel her next to him. "We need to go see Silver as soon as possible."

* * *

"Black?" White whispered when she heard his voice, though her throat was raw and it hurt to speak. She opened her eyes and was blinded by the whiteness of ceiling and turned her head slightly to the side to see Black staring down at her concern etched on his face.

"Are you feeling okay? Do you want me to call the doctor to check on you?" He asked, brushing her hair aside so he could see the colour of her eyes more clearly. Her eyes weren't dilated and they were clear so that reassured him. She wasn't as pale as before either and he couldn't help but run his fingers over her cheek. _She's going to be alright_, he told his racing heart.

"I'm fine." She said, frowning at the way he fussed over her. She tried to sit up despite Black's protest but she pushed his hands away because she didn't want to look weak to him and have him look down at her, literally and figuratively. She flinched at the weakness in her limbs but her mind was racing back to the blurred events of last night. All she could remember feelings heat and hearing Black call for her.

"What happened? The last thing I remember was closing my eyes for a minute. How did I get here?" She asked and when she saw his hesitation she used a more authoritative voice. "Black Noir, you will tell me what happened no matter how you think that it'll affect me."

"Fine Prez," He took her hand, hoping that it would calm her. "There was a fire while you were in your trailer. I found you on the ground passed out and brought you out. The doctors said that you were given some sleeping pills. I need to know if you took them yourself."

White tried to think of the moments before sleep take over her and only shook her head. Then the thought of her trailer caught up to her, "My trailer! How much were they able to save? Everything of mine is in there and my work can't be gone. Tell me that the firemen were able to save my works!"

"I didn't stay long enough to find out," He frowned that she was more worried about her work than her own safety. "I was too worried about taking you to this hospital and making sure you were okay."

White sighed and turned her face in his hands. "It was him, wasn't it?"

Black didn't need to ask who 'he' was but didn't know how to answer. It could've be the masked or it could be N. While Black could believe that N would set fire to White's trailer as revenge, he couldn't see N being the masked man because their motives didn't match.

Black knew that it would be better if he left and have N follow him but Black didn't know if he could leave, especially with the Masked Killer threatening her. Knowing her, she would most likely try to protect everyone but herself and he had to be there for her.

"Bastard," She cursed him and laid back on the pillow, pulling the blanket over his head, breathing out a frustrated breath. "I'm going to find that man and-"

Black had to smile at the curses and threats White made. It seemed like nothing could break her spirit and he enjoyed that in her. She was so strong, so much stronger than him in her passion that allowed her to never give up. Though that was also why he always hesitated when telling her about his past, only to keep silent. Could she hate his with a passion when she found out that he might've brought all these problems to her circus?

"We're going to work this out," She said, confident in her words. She called out for the doctors and began to get up from the bed, wanting to get back to work on her circus. She couldn't give up or else the killer would've already won! She couldn't let her performers think that she didn't have control over the situation. "When we get back, I want to see GiGi again for the routine I was thinking of."

"I better go with you, I'm still training her so it might be dangerous."

* * *

"You brought her?" Silver whispered harshly to Ruby, eyeing Sapphire who was looking at the ordering some breakfast at the counter. Ruby was glad that she wasn't sitting close enough for her to hear Silver whisper, "You're undercover and the less people that know about you, the more likely you'll be discovered. Your job is to find a killer, not play Romeo with an old lover."

"I know what I'm doing," Ruby insisted, though he didn't say that he was planning to do both as well since Silver wouldn't understand and assign someone else to the case. "Thanks for driving into town though. Have these processed for any fingerprints and see if there's anything to the song it plays. Both are different and see where it was made."

Silver nodded, taking the bag from him. "I also want you to put this license plate. The car almost ran us over. I don't think that it's was just another hit and run. Someone was trying to run us over and I want to know who. They must've known that we had the Jack in the Boxes."

"Then why leave them in the first place?" Silver asked.

"Maybe it's a two person's show," Ruby suggested. "The masked magician could just be the performer that did something the ringleader didn't like, like leaving behind some clues. The magician likes tormenting us but if he does this too much, the show will end too soon. Much sooner than the ring leader would like which would push him to get rid of these little boxes."

"The more reason to get this back to the station, don't want that 'ringleader' to come and take it. I'll head back. Thought I told them I didn't want to go anywhere else. I'm trying to raise my sweet little Aries and they tell me that I need to drive hours to meet you. I should've just sent Gold. Who knows what my little Aries is doing right now without me. I could be missing her first words!"

Ruby had to hold himself back from chuckling. Silver could be so melodramatic about his daughter and flaunted to everyone in the station about the 'greatest little girl ever'. Ruby wondered if he would act that way about his and Sapphire's child. He could imagine a little girl with Sapphire's bright eyes.

"Tell little Aries hello for me. Did the dress I make for her fit?" Silver nodded and held out a photo of the little girl. Ruby smiled that the dress looked just as he imagined and that she looked so happy. He was always happy seeing his designs on someone.

Silver was about to leave but stopped for a moment. "Don't get too distracted."

Ruby knew who he was talking about and only nodded to Silver as he walked away. Ruby didn't bother to watch as Silver put the Jack and the Boxes into the trunk of his car. He was more distracted by Sapphire coming to sit in front of him. Was it just coincidence that her order finished once Silver left? Did she hear anything that Silver said?

"So wha' was that all about?" Sapphire asked. "Did he say anything about when we should get results? I just want to know who it was and kick their butt for trying to destroy my circus."

"It usually takes a week or two for the fingerprints to go through our database but that's only assuming if he has a past history. Silver's also going to see if there's anything more to those Jack in the Boxes and where they were made."

"That's good," She nodded and she pushed a cup closer to him and he noticed that it was tasted just as he liked. The tray was full of food, more than she was able to eat and when he reached over and ate some bits. "I can't wait to solve this mystery."

_So we can part ways quicker_, was the unspoken words and he heart clenched at that. She was still pushing him away after everything they've been through. At least she was opening up a little to him, with these little gestures. He tried not to flinch visibly when she ate, leaving little crumbs on the corner of her lips. He wanted to lean over and kiss her but knew she wouldn't want that.

"Do you want your shoes back?" Sapphire asked him and he shook his head.

"Silver gave me some extra ones he had in his cars," Silver explained. He wouldn't have been able to walk into the diner they were at if not for that. He couldn't help but tease her when she nodded so adorably. He nudged her chin up at him.

"You look adorable, when you eat with the finesse of a child." He leaned over and licked the crumbs from her lips. She jumped back, knocking over her chair and raised her hand to her lips.

"We should go see White in the hospital; I don't want to walk home after what happened today." Sapphire said quickly to run from the eyes they were drawing. Her eyes made contact with someone watching them from the glass but they quickly turned away, running out of sight. A shiver ran up her spine when Ruby put his arm around her waist and leading her away.

* * *

**Happy Belated Halloween.**

**Review if you liked ^-^**


	7. Once Upon a Black Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**

* * *

"I can't believe that you forgot that Black didn't drive to the hospital and actually road with the paramedics to the hospital," Sapphire complained as they waited outside the hospital with Black and White. Ruby had already called Pearl to come and pick them up but there was no telling when he would come, though he couldn't complain when Sapphire was leaning against his chest with her arms crossed.

"I said I was sorry," Ruby said apologetically, trying not to smile at her adorable scowl.

"All those times you go on and on about these silly details and this time you forget a very important detail! Now we have to wait here and the forecast said that it might rain today," She added knowing how he would react. She had to laugh when he did as she had predicted as he looked up at the sky as if it would rain lava rather than simple water. No doubt he was worried about his clothes getting wet.

"Stop arguing you two," White ordered, sitting next to Black who was still worried about her. Ruby noticed that Black was looking around frantically as if he expected someone to come out from the shadows and attack them. Ruby didn't doubt that might happen either but it was clear day in front of a hospital, the killer wouldn't think about attacking them now.

"White!" They all turned to see a woman come out of an extravagant car and wrapped her arms around White. Everyone was taken back at the woman's crying into White's hair.

"I'm fine," She tried to calm the two and gave Black an apologetic look over the woman's shoulder. "I didn't think that you'll meet my parents. Mom, dad, this is my assistant Black and these are my performers, Ruby and Sapphire. Why are you here?"

"Someone called us and told us that your trailer was set on fire!" Her mother explained, not bothering to look at Black. "I knew you couldn't do this! I want you to sell this circus back to that strange man and forgot about this pipe dream. You'll be a great vice president to your father's company."

"But I don't want to be a vice president!" She pulled away from her mother and bumped into Black. He placed his hands on her shoulders and she placed her hand over his. "I don't even want to be part of father's company! I want to be in charge of my company. I can do this and I'm not going have you cuddle me for the rest of my life. I'm going to fight for my circus and no crazy man is going to stop me!"

"You need to sell that circus back to the previous owner. You can try this again with your father after a couple years after business school. You know your father and I only want the best for you. It would be a safer venture than to start something like a circus from scratch."

From the corner of White's eyes she saw Pearl come up beside them in the pickup and pulled Black away. She didn't bother to look back at her mother, not wanting her mother to see her angry tears. She was not a helpless child and this was supposed to be the thing that proved it to her mother. She didn't want to leave with angry words though and called back.

"My next performance will be in the next town in about two weeks. I would really like if you came and watch so you can see what this circus means to me and everything I put into this. I love you and I'll call you if anything happens… I love you, mom."

Black looked between mother and daughter and saw the fear in both of their eyes. He gave White's hand a squeeze before helping her into the pickup truck. He didn't go after her immediately though and went to White's mother instead. He held out a hand to the woman, expecting her to shake it. She hesitated though so he went on.

"White is very smart and passionate, though you must already know that, her being your daughter. Prez has everything it takes to lead this circus and I wouldn't ask for a better employer. I'm with her every day and I'm not going to let anything happen to her so you don't have to worry about her."

White's mother looked over him as if he was a horse and Black began to question his action. He wanted to reassure White's mother and leave her with some peace of mind. Suddenly she threw her arms around Black and whispered in his ear, "She was right about you. Protect my daughter or I'll take your contract and then you'll be my employee and you can see what a demon an employer can be."

She pushed Black away and he stumbled back, a little confused about White's mother. He climbed into the pickup truck and slid next to White. The truck only seated three people so Ruby and Sapphire had to climb into the truck bed. Black stared back out the window at White's mother and then turned back to White sitting next to him.

"What was that about?" Pearl asked, as he drove away from the hospital. He looked in the rear mirror to see that woman wipe away her tears before re-entering her car.

"That was my mother," White explained, also watching her mother in the rear view mirror. "I always wanted to start my own theater but they were… doubtful if I was able to run my own company. I kinda went behind my parents back and bought this circus from Nelson without them knowing. I just thought that if I showed them I could do this, and they'll let me start my own theater."

"The circus is the stepping stone to your dreams," Black whispered. He knew the circus was important to her but didn't know how much until she revealed this. He wanted to make her dream come true, that was the least her could do after bringing N to her circus and putting everyone's lives in danger. He placed a reassuring arm around her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Let's make the next show the best show we've ever put on since your mother is going to watch. I'm sure she's going to come, she's your mother after all." White looked up at him and nodded with a smile. She looked down at her hands on her lap and turned her wrist to read the time. Black noticed her glance and said.

"I didn't want you to wake up and think that no one was there for you. I know what it's like to be alone and have no one to trust," She nodded and smiled up at him. "I'm sure your mother will come."

Sapphire was watching the two from the truck bed and smiled to herself. They were out of town by then and she wasn't afraid of the police would stop them. Ruby was next to her with his arm around her and she couldn't help but leaned her head against him. "I really do hope that White's mother really does come to see the show. I know how much it must mean to her. I used to go to my father after a show."

"I know what you mean," Ruby said quietly. He tilted his head up to the sky and let out a breath. He could remember all the time at his high school plays. He never performed in the play but he did design the costumes and he wanted his father to see them. His father was too busy with work and stated that if Ruby wasn't going to be in the play, there was no reason to see a bunch of strangers play _Romeo and Juliet_.

"But after a while, you get used to it…" Ruby could feel Sapphire's gaze on him but didn't look down at her, knowing she had questions in her cobalt blue eyes.

Sapphire knew that he never had a close relationship with his father but the resentment surprised her but it was the sadness in his voice that hit her harder than the anger. "Did you speak to him… your father, I mean… before he died?"

"He died on duty, chasing a drunk driver. The last time we spoke, we were just said hello and bye as he left the station that day…"

"When was the last time ya spoke to your father?" Sapphire asked after a pause. Ruby really didn't want to answer her since he knew she expected more from him. But he didn't have the relationship she did with her father and couldn't lie to her.

"I honestly can't remember," He admitted. "I think it might've been night we had an argument. I didn't want to go into the police force. There was shouting and after that… nothing. I joined and we never spoke at any length after that. I still don't know why I did it; join the police force, at least. I always wondered what he thought of me but I guess that I'll never know now."

"That's it?" Sapphire raised a brow at him but he refused to show pain. His father tried as little as he did to make their relationship work. "He left you with no parting words? My father left me and May a letter before he passed. I'm sure your father would've left you something."

"Isn't it too late to fix this?" Ruby's bitterness was more toward himself than anyone but Sapphire felt her heart tightened. He held more regret over broken relationship than she knew. Though he broke her heart all those years ago, she couldn't bear to see his in pain either. Maybe she could help him come to terms with his father. After a pause, he admitted. "He did leave me a letter but I haven't read it yet."

"Why not?" She puffed her cheeks and sent him a quick glare. He could've at least tried a little harder and swallow that pride of his. "Ya don't even want to know what your father wrote to you? What's stopping ya?"

"I already know what he's written to me," He laughed bitterly. "It's probably him going on and on about what a failure of a son I am! 'Why don't you do go off and do rash things!' It'll start, then it will go on to say that making fashions-"

Sapphire rolled her eyes as he began ranting. She had heard him complaining time and time again about his father and she began to doze off. She laid her head against his heart and listened to it beating faster than usual. She knew that he had to vent out his anger before she could try to reason with him. It frustrated her that there was some truth to his father's words.

She never really understood why he wanted to go into fashion, not that it went against being the norm because it wasn't practical. Clothes were clothes, why add so much to it so that one couldn't even move. She couldn't understand the logic behind his passion but didn't try to deter him from it, since it made him happy. Though she might not agree with it and spoke against it often.

"I guess I'm also afraid that I'm wrong," He whispered against her hair. She felt his sadness and leaned her head up at him. It wasn't something easy for him to admit, mostly because of his pride. His hand was already on her lap and she gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Where _is_ the letter your father left you?" She asked, hoping that he brought it with him. Ruby didn't answer, knowing that she would want him to read it. He wasn't ready to read his father's, and to be honest, he didn't know when he would, if he ever would. He had it with him, for some reason he couldn't name. What could those letters hold for him?

* * *

"Okay, we're going to make our next show the best!" White declared to the remaining circus performers around the fire later that night. "I know that two weeks isn't the best time to ask you to perfect your acts and still get to the next town in time but I'm sure we can pull this off. We'll alternate between driving and practise each day so that should give us enough time."

"I don't see why you must put more pressure on us with a killer trying to pick us apart one by one," Missy said quietly, lifting a teacup to her lips daintily. Even though she mumbled it, she spoke it so that White could hear her. She felt a little guilty at the fallen look on White's face but she strengthened her resolve.

She was planning to leave in the next town but this sudden circus act was going to prevent her from doing so. Her side show brought in ten percent of the circus's profit and Dia always checked up on her in between acts. There will be too many questions if she were to disappear right after the show. She already planned everything for leaving and would just have to run as planned.

She sighed into her teacup and glanced over at Dia beside her. She felt a little twinge at the reminder that she was deceiving them. How ironic that she had always told her sister to always be herself while she had to pretend to be someone else to survive in an illusion she created. They had been nothing but kind to her and she had thought about telling them but always stopped herself since she knewit wouldn't help her, they couldn't help her.

"I know it's a lot to ask," White sighed. "But this is really important to me and if we don't make this the best show ever, my mother's going to shut us down. You'll all be without a job if we can't show my parents the magic this circus can create!"

"Don't worry, we'll be able to pull this off," Dia reassured her though he questioned why she was so stressed since her act didn't need to be rehearsed. He turned to see Missy still looking a bit skeptical. He nudged her and she gave him a small smile to hide her doubt. Dia once again wondered what was going through her mind. He made a note to ask her before they went to sleep that night.

"We'll be able to do this!" Pearl said excitedly, excited by the challenge of mastering his newest act. He grabbed Poppy and Dia's hand to drag them away. He turned slightly and called for Missy to come so she could give them her opinion. She saw Dia's helpless smile and she went after them leisurely, setting her teacup aside.

"At least they're excited about the show," White said quietly as she took the kettle from over the fire, pouring the hot water into her own cup for coffee. Black took the cup from her and she pouted when he took it from her.

"It's already late, you shouldn't be drinking coffee." He said. He was usually described as a hothead by his friend so it scared him a little that he had to keep her on track. The killer was pushing White closer to that unknown edge and that worried him.

She breathed out heavily and looked back to where her trailer once was. There wasn't much of her trailer left so she had it taken away, not able to look at her devastated work. Her heart clenched a little at all the work she lost and had to rebuild.

"You need to rest," Black forced her to his feet and ushered her away. "You've been through a lot and need to rest tonight. We'll start on rebuilding your trailer and start with designing all your posters again, tomorrow. But not an hour before you get the proper amount of sleep."

"Rebuilding will take too much time," White protested, though leaned against him as they walked. "I'll just take up a corner of Sapphire's room. I'm sure she won't mind since she's one of the few people here that don't have to share a trailer. We'll add a bed later, until then I'll just sleep in bed tonight."

Black nodded but Black didn't like the idea of White being so far from White, where he couldn't protect her. So he walked her to his own trailer and helped her onto the bed, pulling the ribbon from her hair. His breath caught when her hair spilled over his hand and her shoulders. How can so have so much hair? Pulling himself from his daze and lowered her onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her.

She caught his hand when he tucked the blanket over her shoulder, "Do you think it's going to be alright? Do you think that we'll catch him before he runs this circus into the ground?"

He saw the doubt and fear in her eyes. He couldn't very well lie to her since he wasn't sure about what would happen. He was glad that he didn't have to answer since she was already asleep.

* * *

Ruby watched the two walk away smiling to himself a little. He nudged Sapphire who sat next to him, placing a marshmallow between two crackers and handing it to Ruby. She saw the smirk on his face, and she raised a brow in silent question.

"Sapphire's is crashing in your trailer and I'm sure you wouldn't want to sleep there with her snoring. You can sleep in my trailer tonight, if you want?" His silky voice thick with suggestion sent shivers down her spin but she returned it with daggers and a sharp tone.

"And what do you think this will achieve?" She challenged and Ruby smile lit the night as he answered.

"I was hoping to seduce you." He whispered to her, turning her scarlet. She looked around to the other performers who didn't seem to notice them. She risked a glance upwards to Ruby's crimson eyes, his voice washing over her as he leaned down closer to her. "Do you think I have a chance?"

"I saw Black leading her to his room," Sapphire retorted. "So I'll be sleeping in my room tonight."

Ruby didn't seem to hear her protest for her wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned back until they fell off the log so that they laid back against the soft grass. His arm was still around her so she couldn't move, not that her body would follow any of her orders at this point. He turned so that his body was inches over hers.

"A chance Sapphire, that's all I'm asking." He kissed her forehead and then pushed himself to his feet. "I won't ask for more, but I won't wait forever. The ball's in your court now."

* * *

"It should be here somewhere," Poppy walked around the camp fire, looking for her poi's that she dropped when Pearl had pulled her away. He was a little eccentric at times but that made her laugh. Her eye caught a glint in the dirt and pulled her poi's from its place in the dirt. She quickly wiped the dirt from them and glanced over the circle.

She thought of putting out the large fire but worried that someone might have to wonder out in the dark if she did put it out. Then again, she knew a fire left untended was dangerous and began to gather some dirt to put out the fire. The moon was bright enough to help them see, she reasoned with herself. She rubbed her hand and stared into the ember flames.

She frowned when a shadow casted over her and her hand tightened over the poi wires. She held her breath as he passed by her, not really noticing her. By instinct, she moved quickly, dashing to the side into the shadows of a trailer. She looked over the corner and knew from the shape of his silhouette that he was wearing a cape and a velvet top hat.

The masked magician.

She merely watched him as he walked toward one of the trailer. He stopped and turned in her direction, though she knew that she was hidden in the shadows so he couldn't her. Her eyes narrowed when he turned back and began walking toward that trailer again, his steps more slow this time. Did he know that she was watching him?

He took off his hat as he reached one of the trailers. She frowned, knowing his intent long before he knocked on Henry's door. She couldn't just stand idly by when she knew he was going to strike again! She dashed out from her hiding place, spinning her poi's while still trying to keep quiet. She used them as she would her meteor hammer.

She threw the poi so that it wrapped around his body but when she pulled the chain, it caved in on the body and the cape went limp to the ground. She ran to where the cape landed and looked over it, where had he gone? She patted the ground beneath cape and scowled that she didn't find anything.

The door to Henry's trailer opened and she looked up to see the masked man standing above her. She jumped back and held her poi's up as if it would shield her from anything the man could do to her at this distance. She tried to hide any fear she felt, ready to defend herself.

"Secrets are bad for you, little girl." He held out a candle and she frowned, trying to predict his next action. To her surprise, he didn't hurt her, only retreated by walking backwards into the trailer. She went after him of course and placed a hand over her mouth at the sight of Henry hanging before her, the trailer illuminated by the candle he left. She turned to run out to tell someone but ran straight into the killer.

She wasn't quick to anger but she frowned up at him and clutched her poi's, resisting the temptation to hit him on the side of his head. He held out his hat and pulled out a card and placed a finger on his lips. She took the card from him and her heart stopped at the Joker card.

This could only mean that Pearl or Dia was next. He already attacked Dia so Pearl must be one this card was referencing. She looked up and saw that the masked killer wasn't standing there anymore. She tucked the card into her pocket and ran to Pearl's trailer. She was going to go to White first but she found herself going to Pearl first to warn him.

She hesitated when Missy was the one to open the door. She looked past her to see Pearl and Dia juggling in the background. She knew that Dia and Pearl shared a trailer and Missy often spent time with them. In front of the crowd, she suddenly felt trapped and backed away.

"Is everything okay, Poppy?" Pearl stopped juggling and was accidently hit by the ball. She shook her head and went to Pearl, to pull him aside to show him the card, explain what she thought it meant. Almost immediately after, she ran to White's trailer to tell her what happened.

* * *

White sighed as she petted Gigi's mane. She had just finished talking to the police who wrote off Henry's death as a suicide. She had already called her parents to tell them that her show will be delayed due to this and she spent a good hour convincing her mother that she had everything handled already. She also wanted to call to Henry's family personally too.

After everything, she had been drained emotionally and had to take a small moment for herself. Black had wanted to go with her to make sure that she was safe despite her trust with Gigi. She knew that Black was near so he could watch over her. She turned over her shoulder to see Black leaning against Buoh, trying not to be too obvious with his watching.

She sent him one last desperate look, pleading for the solitude she needed to clear her thoughts. He saw that in her eyes and nodded. She waited for him to leave the cage before she leaned more on Gigi. The lion seemed to sense her sadness as well since she nudged White.

"I know I shouldn't be breaking like this," She whispered. "It doesn't look good in front of my employees and it'll make them doubt me abilities. It just gets hard sometimes, especially when I feel so helpless. But I'm going to find that killer, there's not a doubt in my mind!"

"There isn't doubt in my mind either?" She turned sharply to see N standing behind her. She made a dart for the door but he stopped her by grabbing her arm roughly. She glared up at him but looked at the door from the corner of her eye, trying to catch anyone's eyes but not a lot of people pass by the lion cages except Black and she already sent him away.

She raised her hand to strike him but he already let her go roughly. She stumbled back but didn't take her eyes from the man. Gigi came between them, as if to protect White. N stopped at this slight but then came forward and started petting the animal, speaking softly to her.

"How painful it must've been for you to be near such vile people like Black," White hands tightened and she shot back.

"You're the one that attacked me!" She tried to pull Gigi away from the man but the creature wouldn't listen so she threw her arms into the air before she shot an accusing finger at N. "You have no right to saw such horrible things about Black who is great with the animals."

"You actually let the man come anywhere near these animals?" He sent her such an angry glare that she knew that it had the ability to shot daggers through her. She wished she had carried a weapon like Black and Poppy or knew how to fight like Sapphire. Once again, she felt helpless and had only her wit to save her at this moment.

"Seeing that you've just broke into my circus, you have no right to speak about anything concerning Black. I don't know what happened between you and Black but I've known him for a good time now and he's a great guy. He's trustworthy, honest, a little rash at times but still a great guy."

"A great guy that murdered," N snarled. He didn't show any emotion at the shock on her face but replied, "He didn't tell you about that, did he? Maybe you should ask him about that. He should be here soon, and I shall be leaving now."

White couldn't stop him, her body shaking at N's word. He merely passed by her, his shoulder hitting her as he did so. She shook herself, telling herself that N was only trying to scare her because of this animosity he held against Black. Black couldn't be a killer!

"White, are you okay?" She asked and turned to see Black. She didn't know how long she had been standing there, lost in dark thoughts.

"I'm fine," She gave him a shaky smile which he obviously didn't believe by his frown. "I'm sure it's nothing."

* * *

**Still having a little too much fun with Poppy now that Silvia (Silvermoonstone23) had told me more about her. This was mostly a Agencyshipping chapter with Franticshipping put in there and I promise that the next chapter will have more of the investigation and Frantic.**

**Review if you liked.**


	8. Little Shops of Horrors

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters**

* * *

"Thanks Silver," Ruby wrote the address onto a piece of paper against a trailer. He turned off his phone and went to talk to Sapphire. It was still early and didn't know if she was awake yet. When he knocked on her trailer door and no one answered, he knew that she was still asleep. Sighing, he took a pin to open her door and saw her sleeping on her bed, snoring softly.

He smiled softly to himself as he sat on the bed's edge. She was just adorable, buried under the blanket making her so small and her lips slightly parted. He was conflicted between waking her and letting her sleep some more. From the bags under her eyes, he could tell that she really needed her sleep by the bags under her eyes.

He had wanted to give her time, so she could come to an answer for his question last night. Would she give them a chance? But he needed her by his side and told himself that he wasn't pushing her into an answer, just asking her for assistance in the investigation. He also knew that she would be angry if he didn't ask her to come with him during the investigation.

Silver had called him to tell him that the Jack in Boxes was custom made but he tracked them down to a small shop that sold little knickknacks. They were supposed to start driving toward their next act but he was sure that White would allow them to go off for a while if it meant that they could find the killer. Though White insist on coming as well and then Black would want to come. That would be too many people and would gain too much attention. They didn't have to tell her though.

"Ruby," He heard her mumble and he immediately leaned down closer to her so he could hear her more closely. She was dreaming about him! She turned to her side so that his lips brushed against her cheek and she swatted at him before curling into herself. "I'm sorry Ruby. I didn't want to lie to you but you wouldn't love me if you knew the truth."

"Oh, my Gem, I will always love you." He assured her though he knew that she couldn't hear him. He brushed his lips over hers and felt her respond. He knew she was sleeping and wondered what she was dreaming of again but if she didn't fight a kiss, it couldn't be all bad. He leaned back and kissed her eyelid to wake her. "Wake up, my Gem."

Sapphire grumbled and tried to push him away which he only chuckled. He pinched her nose and she swatted him away. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up, pulling the blanket around her shoulder. It took a moment for her sleep clouded mind to register that someone was in her trailer. She felt a hand on her shoulder but recognized Ruby's presence and turned to him.

At that moment, she remembered that she was supposed to hate him and pulled away. She saw the hurt look on his face and regretted her quick action. He sighed and sat straighter on the side of her bed. "I just got a phone call from Silver. He found where they were custom made and I want to go speak with them directly. I know you'll want to come with me."

_You know more about me than I give you credit for_, she sighed to herself. "Thanks for considering me, just give me a moment to get dress and I'll be out in a minute. Can you just give me a moment to do all that?"

Ruby saw the sadness in her eyes and gave her a gentle nudge. "Were you dreaming about me?"

"Wha?" Sapphire blushed, how could he have known that? She couldn't look away from his knowing eyes because she knew that action would damn her. She blushed harder, remembering the dream which were more than just a memory of their past, it was a fantasy of their impossible future. Of them in a peaceful cottage, free from any of the world's worries.

"I've been doing a lot of dreaming since we've broke up too," Ruby admitted softly. "Dreaming of what I'll say when we reunited… what you would say to me. I guess it was a little too much to hope that you regretted it as much as I did and that you wanted to try it again."

_I do regret, just not the same aspects_, she turned away from him, not wanting to have him see her regret as well. He took her hand and kissed it gently, "I told you last night that I wouldn't push you for your answer and I never break a promise to those I love."

He kissed her forehead and went out the door for her to change. When he closed the door behind him, he turned and saw Black walk by. It would be better to talk to him about going to the shop right now while Sapphire was changing which he knew wouldn't take all too long. "Black, I need to tell you something."

Black sighed, looking as if he really didn't want to speak with anyone. He didn't want to since he was just about ready to strangle someone due his frustration. He could feel White pulling away from him and didn't know what caused it. He thought he had a good enough connection with her that she could tell him what was on her mind.

He barely heard Ruby call to him, so caught up in his thought, but stopped and turned to the man. "Is there a problem?"

"There's no problem," Ruby saw that he was stressed so he tried to calm him. He looked around him the corner of his eyes and lowered his voice so no one would over hear them. "I just wanted to tell you that Sapphire and I am going to another town today to check on a lead to where the killer got the Jack in the Boxes. We won't be that long and should be at the meeting spot by tonight."

"I'll tell White, if she asks where you two went." Black nodded, not really thinking over Ruby's words. Ruby could tell that Black was distracted and wondered if anything had happen between him and White. Everyone was slowly losing their senses in this circus.

"I'm ready," Sapphire came out of her trailer wearing a casual sweater and jeans. He smiled to himself that she was able to make his heart skip in such simple clothes. Something came into his mind and when she stood in front of him, he rubbed the material of her red sweater between his fingers.

"Is there something wrong?" Sapphire asked, able to sense the tension between the two men. She knew that Black wouldn't direct his anger toward Ruby since he hadn't been in the circus long enough to make any enemies. Despite how arrogant Ruby was, Sapphire couldn't see him anger anyone this quickly.

"Don't worry about it Sapphire, it's nothing." Ruby assured though she didn't believe his worlds and waved bye to Black as he ushered Sapphire to the spare pickup with an arm around his waist. She protested but Black had already walked away. She made a note to herself to ask Ruby about it later as they drove to the shop.

She rolled her eyes as he opened the truck door for her and gave an exaggerated gesture for her to enter. She didn't take his hand as she climbed into the truck but she was holding back a smile. It was strange to admit that it was a little endearing since she would be the first to admit that it was annoying. That didn't seem to bother him for he walked to the driver's side of the truck and climbed inside.

"That's a nice sweater," Ruby smiled to himself after a while of driving. Sapphire raised her brow at him and pulled at the hem of her simple red sweater. He reached over and tugged at her sleeve so that she looked into the sleeve hem and noticed a little stitched 'R'. "You kept it?"

Sapphire blushed, remembering that it was one of Ruby's old sweater that he gave her during their first date. She puffed her cheek and retorted, "It's warm and practical. I didn't even remember that it belonged to you since it's so simple and not at all like your other designs."

"My mother bought it for me and seeing that it still fits you, you haven't grown as much." He teased her and she puffed her cheeks. She rolled her eyes but leaned into him as he drove, staring at the clouds above them. "It should be an hour before we get to the store so you can rest until we reach it. It looks like you didn't sleep that well last night."

"I couldn't sleep." She said softly, rolling down the window and letting the air wash over her. She leaned back and closed her eyes, feeling sleep overtake her slowly until she was asleep. She couldn't sleep last night, or any other night, haunted by the memory of their past. Ruby looked over her from the corner of his eyes, smiling at the sight of the wind playing at her hair.

He wanted to brush her hair aside and tuck it behind her ear but kept his eye on the road. He was glad that she was able to relax around him and smiled at the hope that they could be more. As soon as he caught this killer, he would ask her to be his once again. Then again, it could've been her tiredness but he liked to think that it was otherwise.

* * *

Missy took care not to draw attention to herself as she exited her trailer when she felt the circus stopped. They hadn't reached the next town yet but White wanted to stop for rest and to practise. She wanted to speak with Pearl and Dia about the Masked Magician. Pearl didn't hide the fact that Poppy was given a Joker card and that it was a sign that he might be next.

She reached their trailer and knocked softly. She leaned closer into the door and could hear the two going over their routine by rehearsing their lines. She held her breath until Dia opened the door. His wide smile told her that he didn't question why she was out without the two which wasn't the norm for her.

"Is there something wrong Missy?" Dia asked and she shook her head, not wanting to worry him.

"I wanted to make sure that you two are still safe. With this warning the killer has given us, I was worried about you two. I don't think that you two should be alone with this turn of events." Missy's voice was deadpanned but Dia could see and fear in her tawny eyes. Her next words were so quiet, he wasn't sure that she even said it, "I couldn't bear to lose either of you."

"You don't have to worry about losing us," He assured her with a gentle nudged and led her in. Pearl smiled at her when she walked in.

Missy sat on Dia's bed as the two went back to their routine but she didn't really notice them, more intent on surveying their surroundings. She had a keen eye for detail and was hoping to find any trap the killer could've left. She didn't want to leave with their death on her mind. It was already hard enough to leave when she made such a connection with everyone.

But she knew that it wasn't safe for her to stay any longer. She heard slight clicking but didn't smell any smoke. She parted the drapes to see Poppy practising her act. Maybe she could ask her more since she had encountered the Masked Magician personally. There might've been something see looked over and she could help her remember.

"I shall only be a moment," She told the two. Pearl nodded but Dia looked after her worried. When Missy left the room, Dia voiced his concern to Pearl.

"You should be asking her. You two seem close enough that she would tell you what's wrong if you only asked her," Pearl told his friend. "Everyone's stressed and she must be worried with what Poppy told us. You're the one that's usually all laid back, why are you suddenly worried?"

"I can't be worried about my friends?" Dia wasn't angry at Pearl words, just a little hurt.

"We're going to make our next act the best and that Killer isn't going to break apart our perfect duo! Don't worry, if that killer comes for me, I'll be the one to capture him and save the circus." Pearl and Dia laughed together.

Missy smiled to herself, hearing the two laughing together. They were always able to bring some light and humour to any situation and she would miss that when she leaves. Poppy was helping to set up the tightrope for Stevie. Her poi's at her hip clicked together and that made Missy paused a little.

"Is there something wrong?" Poppy asked without turning and her voice was laced with concern. Missy didn't know how she was able to notice her when she was so quiet. She kept her head high as she was taught and nodded regally to her.

"I want to discuss with you what you saw last night. If he is going to attack my friends, I want to do everything I can to protect them. Did he say anything last night that might tell us why he is targeting Pearl and Dia? He gave you that card, so he must've given himself away to you in some way."

Poppy looked at the ground and let the silence wash over her as she remembered back to the events to the events of last night. She never spoke with any one at length really and the way Missy seemed to size her up made her nervous. She took a calming breath and answered, "He told me that secrets are immoral."

"But Dia and Pearl don't have any secrets." Missy pointed out. "Neither does White."

"But you do," Poppy said quietly and Missy froze at her words. "You do not hide it well."

* * *

Ruby considered letting Sapphire sleep in the truck while he went to question the store owner but knew that she would be angry if did leave her. So he regrettably walked to the other side of the truck so he could open her door. He reached over and gently shook her shoulder. She mumbled something beneath her breath and rubbed her eyes as she came awake groggily.

"We're here," he told her and she nodded. She came awake pretty quickly and she allowed him to help her down. She looked over the old shop wedged between two other ones such that she almost missed it since it didn't give anything to stand out from the others with much colour. She looked over the trinkets in the window, her eyes drawn to the glass lover figures.

She pulled herself away, "I don't see any Jack in the Boxes, are sure this is the right place?"

"This is the address Silver gave me," Ruby nodded and opened the door. She followed him, scanning the inside of the store, a little nervous at all the dolls seemingly watching her. Ruby stopped in front of one of the dolls and felt the fabric. His brows furrowed, it was the same material as the Masked Magician's cape.

Sapphire wondered from his side and went to the counter. An elderly woman was reading at the register and Sapphire tapped on the glass counter to gain her attention. She scowled up at Sapphire, putting her book aside and asked "Is there something you need, ma'am?"

"I was wonderin' if ya made a Jack in the Box like this?" Sapphire asked, pulling out a sketch of the Jack in the Box from her satchel and placed it in front of the woman. She readjusted her glasses and called out to someone in the back.

"I don't make any of the actual ornaments, my employee does. You will have to ask him about this," She explained as a blonde man came out from the back room. Sapphire had to step back at how tall he actually was. Her keen hearing picked up the sound of rusting metal parts and she wondered if there was something more to him. "Did you make this Emerald?"

The man took the sketch from her and nodded, "A man came in and asked if I could make a collection of circus based boxes for him. He said that they were presents for his fellow circus performers."

Sapphire jumped at his words and asked, "If I gave you a picture, would you be able to identify him? Wait, there was more made? You need to tell me which performers they were of so we could protect whoever's targeted next! Did he saw anything else to you?"

"Wait, is there some trouble with this man?" The old woman asked. Sapphire didn't want to scare the woman but didn't know if she would still give out the information is she said otherwise. It didn't seem to matter for the look on her expressive face gave her away. She didn't react as Sapphire expected though, lashing out at the man instead.

"How could you let that man into my shop? All you do is stay back there with your childish toys, what use are you to me?" She snapped at the man and by his defiant look, Sapphire knew that this was a common occurrence. She bit her lips against her rage, how could this old woman talk to another human being like that? She knew that the man was on the edge of snapping too and the thought of how long he must've taken her abused pushed her past the edge.

"Ya have no right to speak like tha!" Sapphire's eyes flashed. "He's your employee but he's work is what runs this place and making figurines like this is not childish. It's hard work and talent! I'll like to see ya pick up a knife and make anything half as beautiful!"

"And you have no right to comment on how I speak with my employees," She shot back. She reached over and tugged at Sapphire's hair. "You're nothing more than a barbarian!"

"She's the Queen of Gems, flying far above what you can hope to reach," Ruby cam e beside and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He was so caught up in the clothes that he hadn't noticed Sapphire leave his side until he heard her shouting. The moment he heard Sapphire being called anything less than beautiful, he had to speak up though with more finesse.

"If we were to bring you to our circus, can you point out this man? I'm sure that you can spare a few minutes of you time." Ruby spoke and Sapphire quickly added.

"How's your ability with a knife?' She asked and when Emerald shrugged, she said. "We need more performers and Wally wouldn't mind help with his knife throwing act! In fact with your talent of making all these things, you can help repair some of our equipment! I'm sure White wouldn't mind giving you a job and it's better than working here when you're not happy."

Emerald hesitated for a moment but Sapphire took his hand, finding that it was cold as metal. She wouldn't take no for an answer, "Go pack and met us outside. We'll be waiting in front of a truck."

Emerald took her courage and went back into the backroom. Sapphire ignored the woman's glare, more intent on helping this man find a happy life. She felt Ruby squeezed her gently and whispered in her ear, "You're a good hearted woman and I hope that you can find room in it for me."

_You already took so much of it_, she thought to herself, _how much more can I give before I fall in love with you again?_

* * *

Dia placed the two pieces together and fumbled across the table for the tape he had placed there earlier. He was working on the ripped note he had found in Missy's room the night after he was attacked. He was finishing it for pure curiosity. Something deep inside him hoped that what he found would help him find what Missy might've hiding.

Pearl was speaking with Poppy at that moment, despite Dia's worry since he didn't want his friend to be alone with a clear threat from the killer. He knew that any argument he could've given would only hurt his friend's pride. He pushed aside his worry, telling himself to have more faith in his friend.

He took another piece in between his fingers after he tapped down the matched he already found and tried to find where it went in the puzzle. He already had most of it completed, a poster that he recognized of the circus from some years ago. He was more interested in the note on the back but focused more on the poster said, half afraid of what he would find.

The knock at his door didn't scare him, but he was surprise when he parted his curtains and found Missy standing at his door. He pushed all the pieces back into his desk, not wanting Missy to see what he was doing since he didn't know if she would explain to him or just continue to hide behind her lies. Pushing it aside, and went to open the door for her. She was wringing her hands together and he began to worry about what was worrying her.

"I need to leave," She said and that took him back a moment. She saw the shock on his face and felt ashamed that she was taking advantage of his kindness. Poppy's comment had scared her even when she pushed Poppy, it didn't show any sign of knowing more than the fact that she was hiding something.

That was dangerous enough though and it was enough to push her to escape sooner than she had planned. She was sure that Dia would help her but she felt deceptive since she knew she would have to lie to convince him to take her away.

It took a moment before he was able to compose himself and asked, "Why would you want to leave Missy? Is it because of the killer?"

"No. Yes. It's complicated!" Her usual composure faded away because of her fear. "I can't stay with you anymore, it's not safe for me anymore. I really want to stay but it's just not logical."

"But… I was supposed to take you to see your sister," Dia said softly, disappointed that he wasn't able to have more time with her and he wanted the trip to bring them closer together and hoped that she would open herself up more to him. "Do you still want to take me met her? I know that you were really looking forward to seeing her again."

"It's not possible, no matter how much I want to see her again." Missy said softly. She seemed to be taking him with surprise after surprise tonight and wondered how much she was really hiding. Did she lose contact with her family? Was she running from something? He had so many questions to ask her but didn't know if it was his place.

It was! "Is someone after you? Is that person the Masked Killer?"

"I can't tell you much," she rubbed her arm, feeling the illusion she had coated herself with fade away. "I can only say that I don't want to be found. Please, just help me get to the next town so that I can hide before he finds me again."

The fear in her eyes was genuine and that washed away his questions. He would protect her by letting her go, no matter how much he didn't want to let her go with so many questions.

"We'll leave right after the next show." Not as quickly as she would've liked but she nodded.

* * *

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